Drift of Wind
by MurasakiSpade
Summary: Mayuzumi Chihiro did not understand at which point he had ended up in a stranger's car. But he did understand that he did not particularly enjoy the way the girl drove.
1. Chapter 1

Mayuzumi Chihiro was not expecting his life to take a turn for the worse that day when he got off at the station. There, he had accidentally walked into a fight, and then was consequently dragged off by the girl who had been surrounded by what looked to him like members of yakuza.

"Get in." She told him as they stopped in front of a car. It was a Toyota, Mayuzumi recognised as such. And it seemed somewhat suspicious. Seeing his hesitation, the girl pointed behind him, where angry looking men were glaring their way. "Five minutes' head start."

Mayuzumi decided he would get into the car.

The girl got into the driver's seat and buckled in before casting a fleeting glance behind her. She showed slight annoyance at the men behind them, but turned on the ignition.

Mayuzumi knew _exactly_ why he thought the car was suspicious. It was a deafening roar of the engine for someone who liked peace and quiet. _The car was modded_.

"Let me out." He concluded just as the girl stepped on the accelerator. He wanted to reprimand himself for not paying for attention. The girl didn't even look at him as the car flew out of the parking lot.

"Your own fault." The girl shrugged, her amber eyes flickering with amusement. She sped onto a busy road, and sighed. "Hold on tight."

Before Mayuzumi could even object, the girl changed gears and abruptly switched lanes. It was like she was trying to drift even without a corner to turn. Mayuzumi clutched onto the seat he was sitting on. She continued to speed through the traffic in the same reckless switching of lanes. A calmer part of Mayuzumi noted that she was signalling before every turn. But the stunned part of him just stared at the rapidly changing scenery around him.

"Whereabouts do you live, rich boy?" She asked all of a sudden, as they turned onto a less populated street. She had _definitely_ drifted around that corner. Mayuzumi paused for a while, before summoning up the calm part of him. His panicked self was reasoning that he would bite his tongue if he spoke.

"To answer your question, Kyoto." Mayuzumi began. The girl changed gears and the car was pulled into a U-turn before Mayuzumi could continue his sentence.

"Be glad that I _just_ filled up Ume's tank." The girl commented as she made the U-turn. Mayuzumi felt like he was on a rollercoaster.

"I am not a rich boy." Mayuzumi opted. The girl raised an eyebrow.

"Rakuzan's basketball team regular last year is telling me he's not a rich boy." The girl mused as she indicated to switch lanes yet again.

"You're interested in basketball?"

"Nope." The girl replied simply and passed him a cord. "The guest gets the AUX."

"What is it for?" Mayuzumi asked. He always took the train. Cars were somewhat of a foreign concept to him. The girl rolled her eyes, and pointed to the stereo system in her car.

"It's an hour drive to Kyoto." The girl said, as if that explained everything Mayuzumi wanted to know. But of course, Mayuzumi put two and two together.

"I prefer silence."

"Kinda difficult with this car." The girl laughed, but took something from her side of the door and gave it to Mayuzumi. It was an iPod. "There's stuff in there that can drown some of this car out."

"Classical?" Mayuzumi questioned. He did not think that the girl in an oversized hoodie and booty shorts would listen to classical. The girl frowned, and made another abrupt lane switch. Though, Mayuzumi observed as he began to become accustomed to the speed, she did not need to switch lanes there. She was probably annoyed.

"What about it?" She asked. Her tone was very obviously annoyed.

"Didn't expect that." Mayuzumi stated.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover." The girl said. Then, as if knowing how to annoy Mayuzumi, promptly added. "Unless it's a light novel, then definitely judge it by the cover."

"Light novels are brilliant."

"If you say so, rich boy." The nickname apparently stuck.

"Stop calling me that." The car skidded a little, and the girl quickly pressed on the car key.

"Oops, Ume doesn't seem to like our guest." The girl commented as the car stabilised. Mayuzumi looked at the girl with wide eyes. "No problems, Ume runs a little wild sometimes."

"You give your car a name?"

"Why not?" She questioned simply and looked briefly at the rear-view mirror before clicking her tongue. "Alright, we're taking a little detour." And once again, before Mayuzumi could voice his objection, the girl sped into a different lane, and then, when Mayuzumi's brain finally processed, they were on a mountain road.

Mayuzumi gave up thinking.

"Here we go." The girl stopped her car at a petrol station, shooing Mayuzumi out. "We're in Kyoto. You should know how to get home."

"You never explained why we were running." Mayuzumi commented as he stepped out of the car. The girl raised an eyebrow at him as she took the fuel nozzle.

"They wanted to recruit me, and just as I was finished saying only if they could beat me in a car race, you walked into the conversation." The girl explained.

"Recruit?"

"Yakuza." The girl replied simply, her free hand running through her haphazardly cut, short hair. It was a dyed black.

"Thank you for driving me here." Mayuzumi thanked her. She waved it off.

"They didn't beat me, and I didn't waste fuel for no reason." She shrugged. "Now off you go rich boy, I can finally have my AUX back."

"You should give light novels a chance."

"Maybe when they stop trying to attract anyone with boobs on the cover." The girl replied.

Mayuzumi closed the door behind him.

His parents were not yet home. And then he remembered.

He didn't even ask the girl for her name.


	2. Chapter 2

Mayuzumi found himself getting off at the same station once more. He didn't know why he had decided to that day. But he did not have university classes, and he found himself thinking about the girl who he had sat in the same car for an hour in the previous week. There as irrational need in his brain that told him he needed to know her name.

But of course, he knew very little about the girl with choppy black hair. He recounted all the things he knew about her. She owned a car, to which she had given a name. She disliked light novels, a revelation he did not understand. She listened to classical music. She was about to be recruited by yakuza. Everything about Mayuzumi told him it was a bad idea to even talk to the girl again.

But he had gotten off the same station.

Of course, he reasoned with himself, if he didn't see her again, he would just wonder around as he had intended to the week prior. His sole purpose was not to find the girl. Definitely not.

"Ah, rich boy." Her voice was easy to recognise. A little rough around the edges, but definitely had a girlish side to it. Mayuzumi turned around and came face to face with the same girl. The same amber eyes. The same choppy black hair.

 _School uniform._

She was younger than him.

Irrational anger swelled up in him. He had allowed yet _another_ person younger than him drag him around. His thoughts were about to travel deeper when chatter brought him out of his thoughts. In his anger, which has resulted in tunnel vision, he had missed the group of friends the girl was surrounded by.

"Mei, who is this?" One of the girls asked.

"Rich boy? Do you know him Mei?" Another questioned.

All the girls were studying him as if he was a new species, which was not something Mayuzumi enjoyed. And it seemed that the girl noticed as well.

"Girls, you can go on ahead." She smiled at them.

"Explanation, tomorrow."

"Of course." She waited until all her friends were well out of ear-shot before she spoke to Mayuzumi. "What are you doing here, ready to walk into another conversation?"

"No." Mayuzumi deadpanned. He took out something from his bag and passed it to the girl. It was a light novel. She looked offended.

"You came all the way to _Nara_ to give me a _light novel_?" She sounded offended.

"They are good."

"For someone who attended Rakuzan," The girl began as she looked at the book with suspicion. "I would expect you to read something with more…I don't know, class?"

"That's offensive." Mayuzumi commented. The girl rolled her eyes.

"That's the point." The girl said and took the light novel. "Alright, I will give this a try. Since this is the first time I've seen someone travel so far for something so trivial."

"It's not trivial, light novels are good reads." Mayuzumi defended. "Also, I have yet to introduce myself-"

"Mayuzumi Chihiro, Rakuzan's former power forward, I know." The girl cut him off. She put the light novel into her school bag and looked up at him. "I suppose, I should introduce myself too." She looked annoyed that she had to do so. "Watanabe Meichō, omitting the name of my high school, I'm a second year."

"Second year?" Mayuzumi questioned. Sixteen-year-olds were not meant to be driving.

"Last time I checked." Meichō shrugged. "I've got special permission from the district police to be driving, don't you worry about that."

"I wasn't worried."

"Confusion then?" She asked, casting a look on the wrist watch she wore on her right wrist. "Look at the time." She sighed and turned her attention back to Mayuzumi. "How about accompanying me somewhere, rich boy."

"I tried introducing myself for a reason." Mayuzumi objected. Meichō simply turned and walked away. Mayuzumi, despite his inner complaints, followed.

"Then, Mayuzumi- _senpai_ , how do you feel about cafés?" Meichō asked. Mayuzumi caught up to the girl easily and looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I've got to meet up with someone now at a café, and only then I can show you around." She said, then turned to face him with an eyebrow raised. "Unless, good sir, you were only here to give me the _light novel_."

"Of course not, I-" Mayuzumi stopped himself. He seriously did not have an answer as to why he was in Nara. To see the girl? To get her name? To give her the light novel? Those didn't seem to be the answer. "Never mind, lead the way Watanabe-san."

"Mei, or Chouchou. I refuse to answer to anything else." The girl said as she made her way out of the station.

"We've known each other for less than two hours." Mayuzumi objected. She turned and glared at him, before her expression softened.

"Then I will just refuse to call you by your last name, rich boy." Meichō shrugged. "Though, I do have to thank you today. It would've been hard for me to simply leave my friends for this meeting."

"Yakuza again?"

"No, gosh, I don't know why you seem to think I'm such a bad person." Meichō grimaced. "It's because I insulted light novels, isn't it?"

"And you seem to have some interesting opinions about me too." Mayuzumi commented.

"Assumptions, and more assumptions. Find an empty table, I will be done in five minutes." Meichō said as she pushed open the door to the café. Mayuzumi sat down at an empty table and took out the light novel he had been reading himself. His eyes took in the girl's company. He was a young man, probably no more than 30, Mayuzumi could easily guess that he was related to Meichō. After a few minutes, the young man looked over at Mayuzumi briefly, and then patted Meichō on the head before Meichō stood up and left him. In her hand was an envelope. "Alright rich boy, let's go."

"Would you stop calling me that." That nickname really grinded Mayuzumi's nerves.

"You don't control me either, rich boy." Mayuzumi noted how she had used the word 'either'. But he didn't comment. Meichō looked up at the sky and sighed. "Well, time to show you around. And hopefully, not encounter anyone at school. Though, that's impossible."

"If you were wondering," Meichō started as she passed him a drink. "We got let out early today."

"I was not wondering." Mayuzumi huffed. There _was_ an abnormal amount of school students with the same uniform as Meichō. And they all seemed to know her. He was perhaps more interested in who she was, and not why she was out of school.

"My brother, the person you took your sweet time observing, is the head of police department in this town." Meichō said, answering his thoughts. "And I help take out criminals sometimes."

"Take out?"

"Wrong word?" Meichō asked as she took a sip of her drink. "That's what everyone here calls it. Take a fist and bring it right into someone's face." Mayuzumi grimaced, and Meichō saw. She laughed. "I don't just spend my time modding Ume you know."

Mayuzumi did not reply. Meichō laughed harder.

"I'm joking." She said softly. "I just take Ume and chase people down."

"Drifting?"

"That's hardly drifting, rich boy." Meichō pointed out. "Though, I do like to let it slide when I switch lanes."

"That's dangerous."

"You should try it sometimes." Meichō said. Mayuzumi noted how the girl had a habit of looking up into the sky "It's like taming a wild horse."

"I've never been required to ride a horse."

"But you're a Rakuzan kid." Meichō commented. It was Mayuzumi's turn to grimace.

"Assumptions." He echoed Meichō's earlier words, expecting her to be annoyed. However, his use of words merely seemed to amuse the girl.

"True, maybe then I may be able to see things in a new light." She mused, not at all bothered. "Like light novels."

"Do not," Mayuzumi started with a frown. "Wink at me."

"You do not control me, rich boy." Meichō said. "I will do what I want."

"I am still older than you."

"Yet you had let a first year take control of the basketball team last year." Meichō countered, her tone dripped with venom. Then she blinked a few times, and took a few deep breaths. "I should not have said that. I'm very sorry, Mayuzumi-senpai."

Mayuzumi looked at the girl for a moment.

 _She was so sensitive about her freedom_.

He shrugged.

The girl smiled.

"On the other hand, it's time for me to get to work, and for Mayuzumi-senpai to go back to Kyoto." Meichō said. "Due to having to catch bad guys for the sake of world peace, Watanabe Meichō shall now take her leave."

She grabbed her bag and started dashing away before she bee-lined back, holding her phone.

"Saturday. I will go meet up with you in Gion district." She said quickly. "So give me your mail address."


	3. Chapter 3

_For the three readers who have taken interest in this story (which I had intended to be a one-shot until the website trolled me) and followed it. Thank you very much for following, and I hope you enjoy the story. Also thank you to HeroineWannabe for sending me a review, it's really motivating to see people who thinks my work is interesting. And also, of course, to everyone who read this, thank you for tuning in._

* * *

Mayuzumi did not understand the situation.

Sure enough, he was in Gion. And it was Saturday.

But the girl sitting in front of him was not the Meichō he knew. Not the girl with the choppy black hair and weird driving. Sitting in front of him, was a girl with long black hair and brown eyes. Just who?

"I'm still the same person." She said. Meichō's voice was still the same – rough around the edges, though there was a subdued tone to it. She was in a one-piece dress, and all her street girl air vanished. "Just have to see a different person after this today."

"I didn't ask." Mayuzumi said as he drank some of the warm liquid in front of him. Green tea. He personally preferred black tea. But he had arrived in the tea house after receiving a message from Meichō, who had merely told him the name of the tea house. South Gion, where, Mayuzumi imagine, Akashi would spend a lot of time in. It was full of rich old men who liked shogi and other traditional Japanese things. Meichō rolled her eyes at Mayuzumi's response.

"As if," She countered, setting down her own cup of tea. "I've never seen someone look so obviously confused in my life."

"That's not true."

"Either way," Meichō decided to drop the conversation. She grabbed a light novel out of her bag and passed it to Mayuzumi. Her bag looked abnormally expensive. Her expression was perplexed. "Here is the light novel, and I've read it."

"It's good." Mayuzumi stated. Meichō grimaced, but nodded.

"I will admit, I was wrong to judge a book by its cover." Meichō said. And then after a short pause, she decided to speak again, this time with a grin. "I would like to ask Mayuzumi-senpai to lend me the next volume."

"You can just get it yourself." Mayuzumi almost frowned. Instead, it seemed, Meichō frowned for him.

"If circumstances allowed me to, then certainly." She said with a grimace. "But there are some things that are out of my control, Mayuzumi-senpai."

"Like the hair extensions and coloured contacts?"

"That's personal preference." Meichō replied curtly.

 _Another landmine._

Mayuzumi almost wanted to scold himself for taking note of so many of the girl's likes and dislikes. There was no point. He only wanted to introduce her to the world of light novels. Or at the very least, change her negative opinion of them.

Or was that really what he wanted?

"I will bring the next volume." Mayuzumi found himself saying. The girl's face lit up. The way that her eyes found a mischievous sparkle, and her lips curling into a smile. It was the Meichō he knew – the girl radiating with an air of street-smart. He was not too sure why he had agreed. But he decided not to dwell on it.

"You're a lovely human being, Mayuzumi-senpai." Meichō said as her phone buzzed on the table, next to her elbow. "I will be back a little later, if you want to keep my lonely self company in twenty minutes' time."

Mayuzumi did not reply, but the girl just shrugged and left with her bag. Mayuzumi was a little stunned. It was probably the first time he had been called 'lovely', much less by a girl. And she had only known him for two weeks at most.

She was so strange.

* * *

Meichō was back in under twenty minutes. But she looked ready to burn the store down. But Mayuzumi's expression did not change as she sat down. She had gotten rid of the extensions, and changed into a hoodie and a pair of shorts.

 _She prefers clothes easy to move in. Probably._

Meichō poured herself a cup of tea and sat in silence with Mayuzumi, who was absorbed in the light novel he was reading. Though, part of him had taken the liberty to observe the girl sitting in front of him. Her usual street air was definitely back, if not, she looked more like yakuza than she probably would've liked. In fact, Mayuzumi had moved away from the table ever so slightly just in case the girl decided to flip the table. Her mood was foul. And even that seemed like an understatement.

What Mayuzumi _didn't_ expect, was to see tears in her eyes.

How bothersome. Was the first thought that entered his head. There was absolutely no reason why he was required to listen to a girl's sob story.

The second thought, after he witnessed the girl rub the tears away from her eyes with her hoodie sleeve, was that he should probably pretend he didn't see it. He wasn't going to offer any words of comfort. He was incapable of such a thing. It was equivalent to him actually striking a conversation with anyone. Near to impossible.

And the final thought, before he saw the girl take out her phone again, was that at least she didn't expect him to do anything. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she tapped a few things into the smart phone, and then shoved it back into the bag. Her attention turned to the window. Outside, where the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, something seemed to draw her attention.

Paradoxically, it was an awkward, yet comfortable silence.

"Mayuzumi-senpai, here, have this." Meichō broke the silence after a while, and pushed something towards him. Mayuzumi turned his attention to the piece of paper on the table. It was a book store voucher. He looked blankly at the girl, whose attention did not seem to be lingering on the voucher. "A small token of appreciation."

"For?"

"Do you not want it?" She asked instead, her eyes now looking at him with interest. Mayuzumi shrugged. "People always want things."

"You're not giving me a reason, Watanabe."

She didn't reply.

 _I refuse to answer to anything else._

She was serious.

Mayuzumi almost sighed.

"Meichō," He tested. She looked at him, her expression made it hard to tell what she felt. Mayuzumi felt like Akashi Seijurō, and that was _not_ something he thought he would ever feel. "You need to give me a reason to take that."

"You're so uptight," Meichō giggled as she hid her laughter with her hoodie sleeve. "Just take the paper."

"I don't understand."

"I don't see why." Meichō laughed. Mayuzumi thought she had just completely lost it, when out of the blue, she gave him an answer. "A thank you for not attempting to talk to me just then."

Mayuzumi didn't reply. Solely because he had not attempted to talk to her due to a selfish reason. And he thought better than letting someone else know about that. He could just see her teasing him if she knew. Meichō was looking at him with eyes that expected him to respond. So reluctantly, he took the voucher. She flashed him a smile before she looked into her bag. She bit her bottom lip as she read the screen, but made no move to leave. Mayuzumi did not ask.

"Senpai, would you by any chance know a place to get car parts near here?" She asked.

"No."

"Of course, sorry I asked." She was abnormally apologetic. Mayuzumi felt that the girl he had been with the entire was out of place. "Next time, if Mayuzumi-senpai goes to Nara, I will show senpai the quiet space."

"Quiet space?" Now, that was somewhere he could work with. Meichō flashed him a smile.

"Meichō's special connections guarantees good things in Nara." She replied as she tucked the phone into her bag and stood up. That was a comment that sounded more like the Meichō Mayuzumi knew. She tucked a Yukichi* underneath the cup she was drinking from and pointed at it. "You can keep the change, Mayuzumi-senpai, I've only got Yukichi's with me."

"And you call me the rich boy." Mayuzumi muttered, but was sure Meichō heard it when she stifled a laugh before she turned and left.

* * *

"Mei's acquaintance?" A girl asked Mayuzumi. She had walked into him, and he had not seen her coming as his head was buried in the light novel. How the girl had managed to remember him however, was a mystery. Mayuzumi merely nodded and lowered the novel. The girl observed him for a while with her dark brown eyes. "It's a Tuesday morning."

"I am aware." Mayuzumi replied curtly. The girl blinked and shrugged.

"Well, it's not like Mei will turn up to school." She said and reached into her bag to take out what seemed like a business card. "Here's a spare, she should be there today. You're delivering something to her, right?"

"Yes, but-" Mayuzumi started and heard the bell for the train. The girl looked at him briefly.

"Tell her that Kaori gave you the address, and maybe also tell her to turn up to school more." The girl said before dashing away in order to catch her train.

 _She doesn't turn up to school often._

Mayuzumi noted yet another fact of Meichō. He looked blankly at the business card. The name was under Banshee, and the address underneath was something he didn't even bother to read. There was a number beneath the address, and Mayuzumi took out his phone, opting to send Meichō a message instead.

Your friend gave me a business card.

Mayuzumi locked his phone and instantly it buzzed. His screen showed a string of binary numbers. Then it buzzed once more, this time in normal letters.

I will be there in two, listen up for Ume, Mayuzumi-senpai.

It read beneath the series of binary numbers. With a bit of knowledge of computers himself, Mayuzumi stared at the series of zeros and ones. Just as he heard the loud engine of Meichō's car, Mayuzumi understood the message in binary.

Scared me.

Had she intended to send that message to him, or was it a mistake?

Mayuzumi merely got into the passenger seat.

He wasn't going to ask.

* * *

 _Gion, for those who doesn't know, is at the heart of Kyoto, and is where all the pretty ancient things are._

 _*Yukichi – These are the 10000 yen notes in Japan. Fukuzawa Yukichi, who is a famous Japanese person for a lot of things, is on the 10000 yen note, and people call the 10000 yen note Yukichi as somewhat of a slang._

 _This site destroys all my formatting and drives me borderline insane. Like every other website for publishing stories._

 _Murasaki xxx_


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note:_

 _If anyone here is as much of an internet trash as me, you would realise that Meichō is like the quiet version of a certain glasses-wearing character in Mystic Messenger. But if you have no idea what Mystic Messenger is…read on, be glad that it hasn't completely destroyed the concept of sleep for you._

 _Also, I really tried to go for a lighter approach to this because honestly, I'm not good at carrying out an entire story without much humour. I'm not even sorry. But I'm sorry. Trust me._

* * *

Mayuzumi took a seat in the bean bag. The room looked like the residence of a maniac. And Meichō seemed to have fished out a mug from god knows where, and was making him a cup of mysterious liquid. Mayuzumi could not find himself regretting his life more.

The room was small, and each wall was decorated differently. Well, Mayuzumi did not really think it was decoration. The wall opposite to him was filled with posters of two people he happened to know as a result of the Generation of Miracles – Shiraon Hinae and Matsui Kikue. The wall behind him was filled with pages upon pages of binary codes, occasionally with a few pictures here and there of people or scenery.

The wall to his right was a pastel nightmare, and contained the only window in the room. Blotches of colour exploded all over the wall like someone took a hose and blasted the wall with bright colours. The wall to his left was even worse. There were colours alright, but at the same time there were pictures of cars, people and what looked to him like a car part just suspended on the wall. In the corner of the room was a table with a computer, and a really weirdly coloured chair. On the other side of the room was an inbuilt counter with cupboards underneath. On the counter sat a kettle, which the girl was using.

She was in yet another hoodie, in a pair of short shorts and had, next to the kettle on the table, quite a few empty cans of energy drinks. Instead of her usual street girl aura, she felt like she had not left the computer in quite a while, and was slowly withering on the inside. Though, as she turned to hand Mayuzumi the mug of mysterious liquid, she looked completely fine.

"Hot chocolate." She said simply as Mayuzumi eyed the liquid suspiciously and smiled. Mayuzumi took the mug with reluctance and the girl walked over to the weirdly coloured chair. It looked somewhat like the colour of a koala if it turned orange after trying curry. She sat down in the chair and looked at the computer screen. There was a silence as the girl typed something into the computer, Mayuzumi noted, in binary code. Then she just ceased all movement and waited. He could sense a wave of irritation wash over the girl, though her expression was still set in the smile she had when she handed him the mug of mysterious liquid. "Mayuzumi-senpai, isn't it a strange time for you to be turning up?"

"Under normal circumstances." Mayuzumi replied. He was not too sure himself why he had chosen to turn up early in the morning. It was a Tuesday morning and his common sense told him that high school students were meant to be in school.

"On the bright side, senpai." Meichō started as she looked over at him. "I'm quite the free spirit."

Mayuzumi didn't answer as he reached into his bag and took out the second volume of the light novel Meichō had asked for. The girl jumped out of the chair and took the volume out of his hand. She sat down on the floor next to him and flipped open the book, and read possibly two pages before the computer made an ungodly noise and the girl frowned. She set the book down gently and walked back to the computer. Mayuzumi looked up from his own book briefly and discovered the girl rubbing her temples with her fingers.

The sound of violin brought the girl's attention away from the computer and towards something in the drawer of her table. She pulled open the drawer and took out her phone. The volume was too low for Mayuzumi to catch, but judging from the girl's expression, something was not looking too good. He looked down at his book again.

"No sir," She muttered. The rough edge of her voice was subdued. "I understand, but the processor is really not working well." Mayuzumi's ears picked up a word he was much too familiar with. "No? I would need a new set of everything sir." The girl's gaze trained on the light novel that she had set down earlier, as if that would solve her problems. Though, Mayuzumi suspected, he could offer help. Not that he was going to offer. "No, I won't be needing two sets, just one." A pause, and the girl's gaze drifted back to the computer in front of her. "Alright, I understand."

She set the phone back into the open drawer and almost collapsed into her chair. And after a moment, she seemed to recover and began unplugging every cord connecting the machine to the screen. When she finished doing that, she returned to the light novel she had left, and resumed reading.

"Senpai, did Kaori ask you to pass me a message?" She asked out of the blue, just as Mayuzumi was about to be once again immersed completely into the novel. He pushed down the annoyance he felt, and felt the girl's amber eyes land on him.

"Turn up to school more." Mayuzumi replied simply.

"Mayuzumi-senpai is strange." She pondered in response. Mayuzumi wondered if the girl could see his annoyance underneath the blank mask on his face. Her next words answered his unvoiced question. "I'm surprised that senpai is ok with me dragging you into interesting situations."

"I'm not." Mayuzumi responded before he even processed his words. The girl blinked and laughed. Mayuzumi wished he hadn't said that.

"I've got a delivery in about ten minutes, after it arrives, I can get senpai back to Kyoto if you want." Meichō offered. "And you can have the novel back too, I will go get my own."

"Manipulative bastard." Mayuzumi slipped once more. Meichō set the novel down on the bean bag, next to his arm, and covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Not necessarily wrong." Meichō smiled. "And when I send senpai back, I need senpai to promise me that you will delete my contact details."

Mayuzumi shrugged.

"Oh, come on senpai," Meichō almost _whined_. Mayuzumi's attention snapped up at her, sending her a glare. Meichō merely laughed. "I don't like using my shady skills if not absolutely necessary."

"Shady?" Mayuzumi questioned. As if she was not shady enough already. Meichō shrugged.

"Senpai is intelligent, and I had a little slip up." Mayuzumi knew almost instantly what the girl was referring to. But it still took him a second to piece all the information together.

 _Hacker_.

Mayuzumi could not stop the frown from forming on his face. Meichō merely looked at him with interest, and then a knock on the door brought her attention to the delivery person.

"Thank you." She said to the man who pushed a giant box into the room. He casted a glance at Mayuzumi before he turned to leave. Meichō's voice was soft when she spoke, but her words were cold and calculating. "My guest is my guest alone, good sir, unless…"

"Not a word, Banshee." The man replied quickly, not turning around.

"That's great, thank you." Meichō's voice softened, and she closed the door. "Well, Mayuzumi-senpai, time to get on the road, and then for me to get back and risk burning another processor."

"Get a proper cooling agent." Mayuzumi said. He didn't move from where he was, comfortably lodged in the bean bag. Meichō blinked at him for a moment, and seemed to be rendered wordless.

"I had someone deliver dry ice once." She decided after a short silence. Mayuzumi felt himself wanting to strangle the girl. She sounded so incredibly stupid for someone who claimed to be a hacker. As if seeing Mayuzumi's anger, Meichō spoke again. "To make popsicles."

"To what?" Mayuzumi put down his novel and properly glared at the girl, who was covering her mouth so she wouldn't laugh out loud. Her amber eyes were sparkling with amusement. Mayuzumi held his tongue as the girl curled into a ball, trying not to laugh audibly.

"To think," She panted between held in laughter. "That Mayuzumi-senpai actually believed me," Her laughter was about to be contagious. "They would stop hiring me if I actually did that."

Mayuzumi did not speak as the girl attempted to recompose herself. And when she did, she looked at Mayuzumi's glare and almost burst into laughter once more. But she held herself back, and asked a more reasonable question.

"Senpai, do you know how to overclock*?"

"Of course." Mayuzumi replied simply. Then he added, for reasons unclear to himself. "It's a specialty."

Mayuzumi saw the girl's eyes widen, and then a full smile claiming her features.

"If senpai isn't going to go back, then help me." She asked, her hand reaching for the box.

There was no helping in it.

Mayuzumi had dug himself the hole.

And he had jumped into it.

* * *

Two hours later, a completely assembled computer sat in front of the two. Mayuzumi looked, despite his blank face, quite accomplished, while Meichō just looked like she was finally satisfied.

"Senpai, you're pretty good." Mayuzumi looked at the girl blankly, but it seemed that she knew what he meant. "Well, really good. Overclocking at least."

"It's a speciality." Mayuzumi pointed out. Meichō nodded. She turned the machine on, but her attention was not on the computer.

"Senpai, can you hack too?" She asked. Mayuzumi felt his face morph into a frown. "No? That's fortunate." She nodded and smiled softly. "Say, senpai, thank you."

Mayuzumi did not reply. He was not used to being thanked.

"Well then, it's time to send you back to Kyoto, senpai." She said with a stretch, and fished out her car keys in her shorts pocket. "Then I've got a mountain load of work to do."

"Hacker jobs?"

"More or less." She shrugged and opened the door. But then she paused. "Ah senpai, grab the bottled water behind the beanbag." Mayuzumi looked around, and found a bottle of water. With the same blank expression, he picked up the bottle of water and threw it to Meichō, who caught it with ease. "Come on, I will introduce you to my favourite snack before we leave Nara."

"I'm not interested."

"Of course you're interested, senpai." Meichō said as Mayuzumi walked out of the room with disastrous interior design. She closed the door and pushed a long series of numbers into the lock pad by the door. She turned to him with a mischievous smile. "I don't see what you've got against taiyaki**."

Mayuzumi did not reply. He merely followed the girl into an underground parking lot and into her car. He wondered why he was even letting the girl drive him. He was pretty sure he had enough of her reckless driving. But he couldn't find his tongue moving to voice any objections. He settled in.

* * *

"Here, have some." Meichō passed Mayuzumi the brown bag as she started the engine up once more. It was her fifth time asking since she had obtained the brown bag, and Mayuzumi was wondering if the girl ever got sick of offering him the snack. And so, to shut her up, Mayuzumi took one. "Good, not eating my favourite snack when I'm your host is unforgivable."

Mayuzumi chose not to reply. He found that he did that a lot. But she seemed to understand his silence. At least she wasn't annoying. Well, when it came to his silent nature. She was annoying all the other times.

And maybe when she was working on assembling the computer.

Just maybe.

Mayuzumi found himself slowly drifting off despite the girl's continuous reckless driving.

* * *

"Senpai, wake up." A small hand was shaking his shoulder, but Mayuzumi didn't particularly want to open his eyes. But the voice was persistent. "Senpai, I'm gonna call the police."

"You are the police." Mayuzumi woke up. He found the girl's hand on his shoulder. She was strangely cold, and her amber eyes looked a little sad for some reason he was not going to ask about. Then she processed Mayuzumi's words and her hand left his shoulder, her face morphing into a smile.

"They hire me, yes, but I'm not the police, senpai." She laughed. And Mayuzumi took in his surroundings. They were at the same petrol station as the first time, and the girl seemed to have already paid for whatever fuel she had to refuel. Mayuzumi grabbed his bag and got out of the car.

"Then what's your job description?"

"I'm not too sure either senpai." She shrugged.

Mayuzumi closed the door behind him.

* * *

He reached into his pocket to take out the business card he had remembered he put in there. Instead, he found a note, written entirely in binary code. His attention snapped into his bag, and when he opened it, he was furious to discover the light novel he had brought to the girl neatly placed in there.

He took out his phone.

Her contact details had disappeared.

 _She had drugged him._

Mayuzumi swore to himself that if he ever saw the damned creature again, he would give her a piece of his mind.

He had never been so livid.

* * *

 _*Overclocking is Mayuzumi Chihiro's really strange speciality. It the process of revamping computer parts, often the CPU, so the computer can perform faster. Or so that is my understanding. I might be wrong, which would make this entire chapter incredibly stupid. So for the love of every god and goddess in existence, let me be right._

 _**Taiyaki – an Asian (Japanese and Korean) snack that's like…fish shaped bread filled with red bean paste. If that's a strange mental image, Google is a good place._

 _Murasaki xxx_


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note:  
_

 _I sat in a chair for five hours procrastinating how to bring Meichō back when I had an essay due in two days. Time well spent, me. FYI, not that anyone wants to know, I didn't actually think of a good idea during those five hours. And I eventually panicked and did the essay in three hours. The day the essay was due. Not expecting a good mark to be absolutely honest. Also as I procrastinate life I went volunteering at an aged care place teaching people English. Everyone keeps thinking I can speak Cantonese. I really can't. Stop looking at me like I'm insane._

 _Inconveniently I have not yet published my other story involving Shiraon Hinae (heads up, the love interest of a story with Akashi). Quick outline. She's famous, and well...stuff happens in the other story. Probably should stop linking all my story characters together...oh well, the more the merrier._

 _Enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

Mayuzumi Chihiro wanted to strangle the creature. He had stopped calling it a girl in his mind since he discovered that it had drugged him. It was a baffling creature to say in the least.

He had gone to Nara twice more, and found nothing the first time. Then the second time, he had met with Kaori, the creature's friend. She had pretended not to know him. He found himself growing a little more spiteful towards the creature, even if he couldn't be completely sure if it had anything to do with the friend's sudden change in attitude.

It was really strange that they had noticed him and remembered him in the first place. Mayuzumi had spent his life growing accustomed to people ignoring him and not noticing his existence. He was never the seeker. So why was he seeking?

He had no answer to his own question.

Perhaps it was curiosity he had not known he possessed. Perhaps it was just because the Meichō's alias did not match who she was. Banshees were easy to find. She wasn't.

Well, _it_ wasn't.

He took out the note in his pocket. The binary numbers stared back at him, making absolutely no sense. Mayuzumi had ended up, after attempting to decode it, with a bunch of English alphabet letters that made no sense. He had even tried shifting the letters to their left and right. Still, the note did not make sense. The creature must've lost it. That was his conclusion.

But he kept the note.

The person next to him, Kataoka Yuuta, looked over at the note. He was someone that had latched onto Mayuzumi despite his silent protests expressed entirely through stares.

"How did you get the code game?" He asked. Despite normally ignoring Yuuta in lectures, Mayuzumi looked over at the young man. In the same small voice, Yuuta pointed to the note with his pencil. "You know Kao-chan?"

"Who?" Mayuzumi asked in a whisper.

[Komori Kaori, Nara prefectural police chief's daughter.] Yuuta wrote after the lecturer gave him a dirty look. And then before Mayuzumi could read it, Yuuta took it back and wrote an additional note. [My girlfriend.]

[Nara?]

[I'm from Nara you know, Chihiro.] Mayuzumi didn't comment on how he had not given Yuuta the permission to call him by his first name. But neither did he give permission to Akashi, and the younger boy had done it all the same.

[Komori-san's code?]

[Well, Kao-chan said someone else created the code.]

[How do you read it?] Mayuzumi passed Yuuta the note. Yuuta stared at it for a while before confusion masked his face.

[This doesn't make sense.]

[What do you mean?]

[It's in English, but even then, it doesn't make sense.] Yuuta took out his phone and took a photo of the note. [Sending it to Kao-chan, let's see if she knows.]

[I didn't ask you to.]

[I know you didn't, I'm curious for myself, Chihiro.]

Silence fell between the two as they turned their attention back into the lecture.

* * *

"Kao-chan asked if you are really sure you want to know." Yuuta frowned at his phone as they walked out of the lecture hall. Mayuzumi merely looked at Yuuta and he shrugged. "Just passing on a message."

There was a short pause before Yuuta's phone buzzed again, and Yuuta frowned again. He showed the phone screen to Mayuzumi.

[Mei is going to kill me, so probably no.] Mayuzumi felt the irrational anger again.

Little girls. Creatures.

"Kao-chan's way of saying maybe you should try figuring it out yourself, Chihiro." Yuuta told him. Yuuta however, didn't seem overly happy about the messages himself. And Mayuzumi found out why. "But Chihiro, if it's Mei-chan, maybe it's better if you didn't know."

"Why?" Mayuzumi allowed himself to question. They were testing his patience and self-control. He hadn't snapped yet.

Yet.

"Mei-chan has a complicated life." Yuuta shrugged. From his facial expression however, Mayuzumi knew Yuuta knew more. Mayuzumi didn't ask. But apparently Yuuta decided it wouldn't be a bad thing to share. "Dangerous jobs with high rewards, she's doesn't exactly have her name in the register."

"Not in the register?" Mayuzumi questioned. Now _that_ , was something else. Yuuta nodded.

"Not in any register for that matter. Even if it was, it wouldn't be her name." Yuuta said as he fidgeted with his phone some more. "Her brother works for an information agency, and she feels some sense of obligation to him."

"I didn't ask about that."

"Just talking to myself." Yuuta shrugged, as if he was used to dealing with Mayuzumi's ways. And then Yuuta's phone rang. Without missing a beat, Yuuta picked up the phone. "Mei-chan? I didn't think you would ring me." There was a pause, and then Yuuta laughed. "I'm getting hired? For what, Mei-chan?" Yet another pause. Meichō's voice was too quiet for Mayuzumi to catch, and he was _not_ interested in what the creature had to say. "Mei-chan, that's super mean, to me and him both." Mayuzumi got the distinct feeling that he was in their conversation. "Fine, I will do it, but Mei-chan, this was your fault to begin with." Yuuta then frowned and casted a side look at Mayuzumi. "Really? Alright, if you must."

Yuuta hung up the phone and looked Mayuzumi in the eyes.

"What?" Mayuzumi asked flatly.

"Chihiro, I didn't take you to be the obstinate type."

"What?" Mayuzumi felt the rage boiling inside him. Yuuta shrugged.

"Mei-chan said, you found her to prove a point." Yuuta deadpanned. "And Mei-chan has this thing where she refuses to joke with me."

"I can see why." Mayuzumi muttered under his breath. But he was pretty sure Yuuta caught what he was saying. "She insulted light novels."

"And you insulted her taste in music apparently, so you guys are even." Yuuta shook his head in exasperation. "I'm employed by Cash General to stop telling you anything about her. Also, to relay a message."

"Do I want to know?" Mayuzumi mocked, Yuuta responded with a grin.

"Mei-chan said, when you can decode that note, she will speak to you, in person."

"No." Mayuzumi responded almost immediately.

"Do you want me to pass that message on?"

"Do whatever you want, Kataoka." Mayuzumi turned on his heels and made his way to the library.

* * *

A few days later, Mayuzumi found himself reading a book on coding. He was in the same tea house he had met up with the creature in Gion. The book was fuelling his anger as it offered absolutely no help to decode the note. At that point, Mayuzumi read on as a matter of pride. He didn't care less about what the note actually said. He just wanted to drag the creature out and strangle it.

"Mayuzumi-senpai?" That was a voice he was familiar with. He looked up from the book and Shiraon Hinae stared down at him through flat lens. Fearing she would attract attention, she quickly sat down opposite to Mayuzumi. "I didn't think Mayuzumi-senpai would be a fan of tea houses."

"I'm not." Mayuzumi replied, his attention drifting back to the book. The waitress came around and Hinae ordered tea and a few wagashi* before her attention settled on the note on the desk. Mayuzumi gestured that she could read it if she wanted. It didn't make sense to Mayuzumi, so he didn't doubt it wouldn't make sense to Hinae either. He was wrong. After a moment, she spoke.

"Senpai, I didn't take you to be the heart-breaker type." She mused. Mayuzumi glared at the girl. Hinae laughed. "That was a joke, do you know what the note says?"

"No." Mayuzumi replied and showed her his book. Hinae looked surprised for a second, but then something in her brain clicked.

"Sorry, I've only been around Sei-kun and Kikue-chan recently." Her expression became apologetic. Though Mayuzumi knew she was not looking down on him, but he still felt a sense of annoyance. "Would you like me to tell you, or are you going to figure it out yourself, senpai?"

Figuring he was not going to figure it out on his own, Mayuzumi motioned Hinae to go on.

"Thank you, I'm glad to have met you." Hinae read, and then passed the note back to him. Mayuzumi felt his face morph into a frown. The creature did not go sentimental on him _after_ drugging him and hacking his phone. He knew Hinae was studying his sudden change in expression. It _was_ unusual for him to wear his emotions on his face. He knew that. But the creature made it so hard to keep in his anger. "Senpai, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mayuzumi said, snapping his book shut. He was going to go strangle the creature now. He left a bill on the table and began to walk before he remembered something. And upon impulse he didn't know he had, he turned to Hinae. "Shiraon-san, can I ask a favour?"

Hinae's expression of surprise mirrored his own.

* * *

Mayuzumi had forced Yuuta to make a call to Meichō the moment class ended. Well, not, Mayuzumi didn't force Yuuta to do anything. He asked. And maybe glared a little. Yuuta had rang the creature. On a Friday morning. And it had picked up.

 _It wasn't at school again._

"I have not slept for sixty hours, better make this good, KataYuu." Constant typing in the background. Yuuta motioned Mayuzumi to take the phone. Mayuzumi did.

"I don't remember giving you permission to hack my phone, Watanabe."

Silence.

Yuuta visibly flinched.

"Nor did I give you permission to drug me." Mayuzumi continued.

Silence. Yet again.

"I'm guessing," Her voice was soft, and the typing had ceased. "Senpai, you figured out the code?"

"No, but you owe me a good explanation for your actions." Mayuzumi said.

"Senpai, you're really obstinate, aren't you?" She laughed softly and typed a few more things. "I will explain once senpai figures out the code."

"I know what it says," Mayuzumi informed her. There was a really long pause.

"Tuesday, I will pick you up from the station. If you continue calling me Watanabe, I might run you over instead." She said after a while. "Also tell KataYuu to get his useless self back to Nara."

The creature hung up.

"Kataoka, it wants you to go back to Nara." Mayuzumi said.

"It?" Yuuta questioned as he took back his phone.

"Watanabe." Mayuzumi replied.

"Stop calling Mei-chan that before she actually runs you over." Yuuta advised. "She doesn't take it even as a joke."

"Not my problem." Mayuzumi deadpanned.

"It will be when she decides she wants to run you over." Yuuta shook his head in disapproval. "Though, I guess she won't, since she's kept you around for so long."

"Does she think people are pets?" Mayuzumi questioned.

"She's the pet." Yuuta shrugged, then realised he said too much as he blanched. Mayuzumi didn't ask. "Mei-chan will tell if she wants."

"I didn't ask." Mayuzumi said. He realised he was probably repeating the same sentence a lot of times since he had met Yuuta and Meichō.

"Chihiro, can I ask you a favour?" Yuuta said suddenly.

"No."

"Please Chihiro, you need to hear me out." Yuuta begged. Mayuzumi looked at him, annoyed that he had decided to let Yuuta stick around. Now _he_ was thinking like the creature. God curse the thing. Reluctantly, Mayuzumi let Yuuta talk. "When you go to Nara, please tell Mei-chan that Kataoka Yuuta has a big group project due that requires him to remain in Kyoto."

"Why?"

"Because, Chihiro, I don't want to face the fury of two girls who are really angry at me for a reason I don't know." Yuuta whined. Mayuzumi's pause must've urged Yuuta to continue his rambling. "I know, well, Mai-chan isn't angry, she's _never_ angry, but Kao-chan sure is."

"How old are you, Kataoka?"

"Turning nineteen this year, why?"

"You're scared of two sixteen-year-olds." Mayuzumi deadpanned. Yuuta shook his head.

"Chihiro, you don't understand, just please, tell Mei-chan that!" Yuuta said and suddenly began dashing off. "Otherwise I really won't live to see another day."

"And why do you think I care." Mayuzumi muttered as the retreating figure of Yuuta.

* * *

"Senpai, you look like you want to strangle me." Meichō commented as Mayuzumi made himself home in the shotgun seat of her car, Ume. Mayuzumi looked at her pointedly and she smiled. "People are normally only that angry at me when I leak their profile to porn sites."

"Don't you dare-"

"I didn't." Meichō laughed. If he wasn't concerned for his safety, Mayuzumi would've strangled her there and then. While she was driving. She seemed to notice his spike in anger. "So, what happened to KataYuu?"

"He apparently has a really big group project."

"He's a physics major." Meichō frowned as she made a U-turn. She opened her mouth to say more, but the chorus of a song cut her short. Mayuzumi actually recognised the song. Shiraon Hinae's debut song. Snow. "Ah, oops, my phone's in the glove box, would you mind…?"

Mayuzumi took out the phone and answered the call. He put it on speaker.

"Mei, can we please concede on the vote to kill him now?"

"Kaori, I'm driving, and Ume's not in the condition to self-direct right now." Meichō replied calmly.

"You do not have time to be out right now."

"I do, I handed in what I had to last night."

"How many days did you not sleep?"

"Enough for me to have a free day, Kaori." Meichō said with a tone of finality. "I told you, until we have KataYuu back, we cannot veto him out."

"Come on Mei, whose side are you on?"

"Money," Meichō almost growled her reply. Kaori fell silent. "Or whatever it is that keeps everyone I know alive. So how about listening to me, and maybe hear KataYuu out before you want to rip his head off."

"Mei, I'm so-"

"I've got a guest, hang up." Meichō ordered. There was a short pause, and the call was cut. Meichō pulled into a department store car park, and parked her car. Turning to Mayuzumi, she grabbed her phone and her bag from the back seat. "Well, let me do some explaining."

* * *

 _So there is this thing called last minute chapters and this probably has loads of mistakes and stuff in it. Please excuse me as I sit here with no food._

 _Murasaki xx_


	6. Chapter 6

_Guys this is me updating the chapter I got out today while I had no internet in my house. Good old cable companies destroying my life like, three phone calls and a day later, I finally have it back. Faster now. Goodie. This chapter let me admit is a little all over the place. There are things I wanted to write but some things happened and I don't know how this happened...Make it up in the next one._

* * *

Meichō was dragging him around shopping. And Mayuzumi knew she could sense his displeasure at that. It, it could sense his displeasure. But Meichō paid no attention to his mood. Which further infuriated Mayuzumi.

"Explain-"

Mayuzumi didn't get to finish his sentence, because a faded, pink, floral dress shirt was shoved his way, and then amber eye regarded him with curiosity. Meichō apparently thought that was a good choice. Mayuzumi begged to differ.

"Not your colour, I know." Came a simple comment. "That's the point."

And she moved on. Apparently, she thought a light blue vest went well with the shirt. And added a pair of navy jeans to her pile. She did a one-over of Mayuzumi, and then, decided to drag him over to the shoes section. Mayuzumi really couldn't summon up the energy to ask her why. So, he let her drag him along. For the time being.

She inspected a pair of silver converse, then decided to move her attention to a black pair.

"Senpai, what's your shoe size?"

Mayuzumi told her. And she called over the shop assistant, and passed her the articles of clothing as well once the shop assistant found the right size of shoes. Once the shop assistant left, Meichō passed Mayuzumi her wallet.

"Here, I'll go find something for myself." She said and turned without another glance.

Thirty minutes later, Meichō was driving Mayuzumi to a laundromat. Or at least, that was what she said.

"I work for my brother." She said in a small voice. "And he works for an information agency." Mayuzumi was slightly shocked that she would start in the car. "I can't tell which agency, but I can tell you that Ume is the only place where telling anyone anything wouldn't result in a lot of unwanted," She paused, struggling to find a word. "Casualties."

Mayuzumi understood that undertone.

Possibly death.

"And I'm not quite allowed friends either." She said in a casual tone. "But Senpai, you're not connected with anyone that my brother works with, so I'm not necessarily allowed, you know, to hang out with you."

"I do not 'hang out' with you." Mayuzumi objected. Meichō laughed.

"You just went shopping with me."

"Not voluntarily."

"I paid for those." Meichō pointed out.

"I don't need those."

"Yes, you do," Meichō said. "We're going somewhere. Well, I'm dragging you, so I can prove a point."

"What point?"

"That it's dangerous to even know me." Meichō said in a faint voice. Her usual rough around the edges attitude was gone, there was something resigned about her that made Mayuzumi curious as to exactly what she was about to show him. Only part of him. A very small part of him. That he hated. He was _not_ curious about the creature.

When Meichō parked the car, it was in front of a small shop just in the ghetto suburbs. Mayuzumi knew because every part of it reeked danger. And Meichō turned and spoke to him. "Laundromat, follow me, we've got half an hour."

"That doesn't look like a laundromat." Mayuzumi commented, but still followed Meichō out of the car. Meichō didn't speak, just took out the bags of clothes and walked into the shop. Mayuzumi followed her in and was just in time to see her throw the bag at someone.

"-shouldn't be out!"

"I handed an assignment in last night, this is another, I've got time." Meichō replied. And then Mayuzumi's eyes set on the first speaker. The lady had a giant rose tattooed on her left cheek, and her hair was shaved on one side, while the rest that was left parted to the left in red waves. The type of person you don't normally see on the streets of Japan.

"Who in the world is that?" Was her somewhat of a greeting.

"The person I snatched to help my investigation this time." Meichō said quickly. "You had no problems with others."

"Of course not!" The lady exclaimed. "The other ones aren't over 180 tall."

"What's wrong with getting someone who actually looks alright for once?" Mayuzumi detected a small hint of irritation in Meichō's voice. "Sawa, I need those clothes in twenty, how about it?"

"Fine, Mei, I hate you sometimes you know that?"

"You get paid Sawa," Meichō almost whispered. "You don't hate me."

"I hate the way you think, Mei."

* * *

Half an hour later, they were in the car with the clothes they bought. If Mayuzumi described himself as a pastel nightmare, he would describe Meichō as a ghost.

She had on a white, one-piece dress, a pair of white heels and a silver wig. Whatever people had said about white looking good, it was a lie. With her amber eyes, Meichō just looked like a ghost. One of those that would haunt you after they die. And her way of driving was not helping Mayuzumi believe that he was alive.

"We're heading to a party." Meichō told him as she took a left at the speed she had driven on the highway. "I need to get a USB from someone important."

"Trading?"

"No," Meichō said. "Stealing."

And the two just sat in silence. Well, human silence, since the car wasn't exactly model for silence. After about ten minutes, Meichō stopped in front of an expensive hotel.

"2714," Meichō said as she parked. "That's the code to unlock Ume."

Mayuzumi just looked at her blankly.

"Just in case you're the only one that gets out senpai," Meichō smiled. "Ume self-destructs if you don't enter the right code." Mayuzumi followed her out of the car and she passed the key to Mayuzumi. "I don't want senpai to take C4 to the face."

"How did you get C4 into that?" Mayuzumi questioned. Meichō just smiled. "Creepy creature."

"Senpai, you do realise I can hear you." Meichō didn't sound particularly annoyed at that, just mildly amused. She grabbed his hand and led him into the hotel. As if pulling a hattrick, she produced an invite to a party and handed it to the receptionist. The receptionist did a one over of Mayuzumi and blinked back astonishment. And when her eyes settled on Meichō, she just immediately looked away and gave them two badges. There was something about Meichō's amber eyes that unsettled most people. Especially when she seemed to be in business mode.

"What kind of party requires these clothes?" Mayuzumi allowed himself to question when they were alone in the elevator. Meichō smiled drily.

"A certain political leader's definition of hippie." She said to him and tapped a few times around the elevator. When she found what she was looking for, she pushed her palm against the panel of elevator. It came out with a faint click, and Meichō quickly grabbed a few things from what looked like the void. Mayuzumi was beginning to think he made a very big mistake when Meichō turned around and gave him a pocket knife. He _had_ made a very big mistake. "Self-protection, because I don't think I can give you anything else."

And she put the panel back.

The door of the elevator opened. There was about a hundred-odd people in the hall the door opened to, all of them in similar clothes to Mayuzumi.

"Well, let's go and talk to some people, Mayuzumi-san."

* * *

Mayuzumi wasn't too sure when everything started going wrong, but he was very sure that he was partially at fault. He could admit that only because he had a bullet fly right past his arm, and he felt the momentum. At least basketballs couldn't kill him.

The party was still going, he was in a hiding spot without Meichō. And there were people with guns after her. And him to an extent.

"Senpai, I need you to take this." Meichō pressed something into his hand as she ducked into his hiding spot. Somehow, her silver wig was still on her head. Mayuzumi kind of wanted to ask her whether the blood was hers or not. He decided that he didn't really want to know. "Get to the car, and drive somewhere. There's a GPS in the car, and if you type in Sawa, it will lead you straight to her."

"You?"

"No time, we need a diversion." Meichō said to him. And then Mayuzumi admitted one more thing.

"I can't drive."

"You're over eighteen and a male, of course you can drive." Meichō just looked at him for a solid second and then sighed. "Well, it's time to learn senpai, and do me a favour, try not to die."

And without waiting for an answer from Mayuzumi, Meichō ducked out of the cover. Mayuzumi was left there to ponder exactly how he was meant to leave the building and then try to drive. A modded car. With a slippery clutch. And manual.

Did he ever mention he wanted to strangle her?

Mayuzumi peered out of the hiding spot. Meichō was two pillars down, leaning on a male that she definitely just pulled to cover her escape. He seemed to be fine with it, and Mayuzumi realised why. The man had a clear view to her cleavage. Well, that was one way to tear attention off of the blood.

He decided to take the stairs. And he did, until two floors down he discovered another party. He had never felt so grateful to the skill of misdirection. Not that he would ever admit that out loud. He had already admitted too many things in one day. He blended into the crowd of that party, and then blended into a group that was taking the elevator.

"Mayuzumi-senpai?" Mayuzumi almost jumped, but the voice was someone he knew. Shiraon Hinae. In all her idol glory, she was in an expensive hotel, flanked with a lot of people. And she was looking at him as if he was born yesterday. He understood. He had looked at himself the same way in the mirror. Apparently, she thought better than asking. "Why are you here?"

"Long story." Mayuzumi said simply. "I'm in kind of a hurry."

"Does it have anyt-" And she was cut short by Meichō crashing straight into Mayuzumi.

"The excuse is that this is a movie shoot." Meichō said quickly, and Mayuzumi could tell Hinae's identity didn't register in her head. She grabbed Mayuzumi's hand and dragged him, running, out of the building. "Senpai, Ume's keys?"

Mayuzumi pressed them into the out reached hand, and Meichō picked up the pace as they approached the car. With the car door open, the two quickly sped off.

"Senpai, quick question?" Meichō started as she casted a glance to the rear-view mirror. "What made you think eye contact was a good option?"

"Involuntary." Mayuzumi defended quickly.

"Can you get me the phone in the glove box?" Mayuzumi took it out, and Meichō fiddled with it with one hand. Mayuzumi found himself worrying more about whether there was anyone after them than Meichō's actual driving. Which, by the time he realised, Mayuzumi had shocked himself. He wasn't supposed to trust a sixteen-year-old in life threatening situations including driving at insane speeds. "Senpai, please don't tell me I just used to excuse of shooting a movie in front of Japan's current top idol."

"You did." Mayuzumi told her. Meichō looked like she wasn't sure whether she should laugh or cry.

"Say senpai, when we get out of this alive, will you stop trying to talk to me?"

"You owed me an explanation."

"Now I don't." Meichō stated. "And it's dangerous."

"Depends on my mood." Mayuzumi's answer was something he had thought about since she dragged him shopping. He didn't completely hate her, which was a start. And it wasn't like he was forcing himself to speak to her. They've had their good share of silences.

"What, so your life is going to depend on your mood?" Meichō questioned. "This isn't a James Bond movie senpai, not everyone in this world gets a happy ending."

"I don't see your point."

"You're so obstinate." Meichō sighed. "I'm fine like this because I have my brother's agency's protection. Anyone besides myself is not safe. That's the point. I don't enjoy putting other people into danger."

"Then your point today?" Mayuzumi asked.

"To prove that it's dangerous to know me unless you are part of the big loop." Meichō exclaimed. "My point is, I enjoy hanging out with senpai, but for as long as I live, people I hang out with cannot be people who I enjoy hanging out with. For very obvious reasons."

"You cannot dictate what I do Watanabe." Mayuzumi snapped.

"Of course not, because then I would have the power to stop people from dying." Meichō said almost too calmly. She hadn't once raised her voice. She only tried to reason with Mayuzumi calmly. As if she had dropped her anger in a pond a long time ago. "I would then also have the power to have stopped my brother from selling me for his safety. And the power to have stopped my parents from selling my brother in the first place to get money for drugs. I can only wish for people to stay away from me, so if the times comes I need to betray them, I won't be broken about it."

"You're already broken." Mayuzumi realised. There was no significant influx of emotions for the girl. Some part of her had given up on something because of a past event. Meichō clutched onto the wheel hard, and then made a sudden lane change.

"Yes," She said after a long pause. "And I don't enjoy being anymore broken than I already am."

"By breaking yourself?" Mayuzumi questioned. "Or by hiding yourself from people from the pretence that its dangerous to know you?"

"It's not a pretence, it's the truth."

"There are people who want to be your friend."

"Senpai, you're the poster child for someone I don't want to hear that from." Meichō deadpanned and made a turn. A few more turns later, she stopped the car in front of Sawa's shop. "My capabilities for human interaction stops at programming social media. How do you suggest I live my life?"

"I don't know, nor do I care." Mayuzumi said. "You have to figure that out for yourself."

"Ah, senpai, you don't know either?" Meichō mused. Mayuzumi sent her a glare, and she smiled. "Say senpai, would you like to search for the answer with me?"

"No."

"We can find senpai a few friends along the way."

"I don't need them."

"Then senpai, you had no right to say those things to me."

"I really want to strangle you sometimes, you know that?"

"Wouldn't doubt that for my life."

* * *

 _This story might end soon, so I want to let everyone know that my next story is a request, for our glasses carrot._

 _Murasaki xx_


	7. Special Chapter Kaori and Yuuta

_Um so I did say this story is ending soon but my idea of soon is like at least about 5 more chapters so like...not that soon._

 _On the other hand, here's a special chapter. Because I felt like giving my side OCs a story..._

 _Spoiler, next normal chapter, major relationship step forward for our mains._

 _I no longer know what I'm doing._

* * *

Special Chapter

Kaori and Yuuta

I am Komori Kaori, the only daughter of the police chief of Nara. The best friend of a genius hacker. And the girlfriend of a good-for-nothing.

There are things in this world that should remain secret, for example, how Watanabe Meichō is the hacker behind many national secret information trades. And how my family is in charge of keeping an eye out so she doesn't go insane and leak the information she handled. Technically, I'm not even Mei's friend. I'm her police officer in charge. But Mei was hard to dislike. So I considered her my friend.

She didn't. Not because she's a bitch, because she scared of her friends dying. Apparently it had happened before. I don't blame her.

My family, as a general rule, loved inviting Mei over for dinner, and to tutor me in maths. We don't dislike Mei, despite the fact that her line of work clashed incredibly hard with my father's sense of justice.

It wasn't really her fault. Plus, she does favours for us. Well, me specifically.

And coincidentally, she had befriended my boyfriend's classmate.

Mayuzumi Chihiro, that's his name. He's incredibly strange, and as Mei would say, obstinate. I don't quite get him either, since he had decided at one point that Kataoka Yuuta was someone worth befriending.

Kataoka Yuuta.

My boyfriend.

Former banchō of Tanisaki High, Mei's helping hand whenever she needed someone to throw a few punches.

I had met him during my first year of senior high, when Mei had asked me to look for him out of the blue one day. She said that she needed someone who could throw punches. I didn't see why she couldn't have done that herself, since she wasn't exactly incapable of throwing a good punch. She was a secret agent for a reason.

Her excuse had been that her fingers were needed for the intricacies of binary coding, not beating people up. So as it turned out, the head of delinquents of our school was a good candidate.

* * *

 _"I'm looking for Kataoka Yuuta." I said to the group of delinquents in the main hall of the old school building. They glared at me, but didn't seem to want to pick a fight with me. My status as the daughter of the chief of police seemed to be the good shield from danger as Mei said. One of them pointed up._

 _"Upstairs, third room." He scowled. I nodded quickly and made my way upstairs._

 _The door was open, and there was only one person sitting in there, in his hands was a PSP._

 _"Are you Kataoka Yuuta?" I asked._

 _"What's the police girl doing here?" He asked as he looked up from his game._

 _"My friend wants to ask you if you would let her hire you." I said, and before I could react, his fist met my face._

 _Talk about an incredible first impression._

* * *

I had woken up with a black eye that afternoon. Mei looked like she wanted to laugh but wasn't exactly sure if she should laugh. Next to her sat my then delinquent boyfriend, who looked like he's seen better days.

He had told me later that Mei had called my mobile, and when he answered, Mei had shown up with a bag of taiyaki and went superhuman on him. Apparently it didn't help that he had called Mei by her last name.

She had hired him after beating him up.

And he had confessed to me despite giving me a black eye upon our first meeting.

The worst thing?

He had forgotten that he gave me the black eye.

Now, if anyone tells me I have no right to be angry, I would like to ask Mei to hack into the national records and destroy their life.

"So, what happened with KataYuu?" Mei asked. She was at school for a pleasant change. And it seemed that she noticed how Yuuta hadn't been back to Nara for a few days.

"He forgot the fact that his first impression on me was a black eye." I replied with an eye roll. Mei had that expression again – the one caught between laughing and remaining neutral. "It's not funny, Mei."  
"What do you want to do?" Mei asked.

"I really want to remind him, the hard way."

"Then by all means, go ahead." Mei shrugged. She was like that quite often. The resigned tone even if she was actually amused. "But's it's not like you've got time to go to Kyoto."

"Mei?"

"No, I don't either." She sighed. "Two national levels to complete before next Friday."

"Tell me that's a joke."

"No, it's really not." Mei shrugged.

"That's a week, and a day if you count today."

"And so it is." Mei smiled. "I've been working on it since I got it, and then I remembered I have to turn up to school."

"Ugh, I would really hate to be you." I sighed. "If Yuuta rings you, please tell him to get back."

"What's going to make him listen to me and not his girlfriend?"

"Because you're his employer?" I offered.

"Right," Mei replied. "I'm not going to ask what actually happened, but Kaori, maybe next time, listen to his excuse before you get super angry."

"Come on, Mei."

"Class is starting." Mei quickly dodged my plea.

* * *

Yuuta came back to Nara on Saturday, only because Mei wanted him to do something for her. Apparently it involved heavy lifting, and then a few trips passing by my house in a truck. And by the time he was done, Mei had called me to tell me to get him in the house, talk to him, and solve the problem.

I really feel like Mei just made Yuuta carry a bunch of boxes for no reason. It was something Mei would really do.

"Yuuta, get in."

"Kao-chan, I'm really sorry it wasn't like I really forgot it's just-"

"Stop, Mei probably made you carry a bunch of boxes in apology anyways." I cut him off. "And I need to apologise for not hearing you out."

"Are we ok now?" I looked at him. He was adorable when he wasn't being a jackass.

"We're ok now." I sighed.

He kissed me.

* * *

~Extra~

"Kao-chan, we need a plan."

"What plan?"

"To get Chihiro and Mei-chan together." I looked at him incredulously. But he looked serious. "You know Mei-chan is taking him on her next mission."

"What?"

"I know, my reaction exactly." Yuuta confirmed. "It would be nice if Mei-chan can finally see us as friends too."

"I'm going to be real sad if someone she's known for so little time can convince her something I haven't been able to in so many years."

"You know she thinks of you as a friend."

"I really hope so."

* * *

 _There was more of me that wanted to explain their fight than the part of me that wanted to give them a story. I was re-reading and realised I didn't tell whether they made up in the main story and that annoyed me. Oops..._

 _Murasaki xx_


	8. Chapter 7

_And so...here's the normal chapter. Character relationship development.  
_

* * *

"Senpai, you didn't tell me!" Mayuzumi had picked up the phone to screaming. And he had immediately hung up. But the phone rang again, and he decided to give Meichō a second chance. She sounded a lot calmer. "When did you put it in my glove box?"

"What?" Mayuzumi asked.

It had been a month since they had left the party with important information, and she had contacted him assuring Mayuzumi that it was all clear. Not that she hadn't dragged him into more strange situations without the clear.

"Hina's signature board." And Mayuzumi remembered the first favour he had asked of Shiraon Hinae. Hopefully the last as well. At least, he surprised Meichō. It was nice being the one who prepared the surprise for once. "How did you manage?"

"She solved your code." Mayuzumi told Meichō.

"Smart people are really something else," Meichō mused. "I spent an entire month coming up with the code."

"How did it take you that long to find it?"

"I'm usually the one driving, senpai." She replied easily. "But! I didn't call just to scream in surprise."

"Then what?"

"Do you want to go on a cruise?" She asked. "Thursday night, I'll probably go pick you up to buy more clothes after lunch."

"I don't need more clothes." Mayuzumi objected. The girl seemed to find incredible amusement in dragging him clothes shopping. Also, she always paid. With cash. And Mayuzumi's parents were seriously questioning what he was doing with his free time. And he was doubting himself too.

"Everyone needs more clothes." Meichō said simply. "And I'm not paying this time, my brother is."

"Your brother?"

"It's his information retrieving mission, but apparently he wants to drag me along." Meichō said to him. "He's paying for everything, so I told him I want to bring someone too."

"What's the point?"

"Having fun on a luxury cruise?" Mayuzumi personally thought it should've been 'not getting killed on a luxury cruise' but he decided to keep that thought to himself. "Say senpai, are you coming?"

"Sure." Mayuzumi agreed. Something he found himself doing much too often with Meichō.

"Great, well, I should actually turn up to my afternoon classes now." And without a goodbye, Meichō hung up the phone.

* * *

"Chihiro, how are you and Mei-chan coming along?" Mayuzumi looked at Yuuta, slightly stunned. And once the words processed properly, he felt his face morph into a frown. "I mean come on, she's bringing you to the cruise, no?"

"Is that special?" Mayuzumi asked, the frown not leaving his face.

"Of course it is," Yuuta looked at Mayuzumi, stupefied. "She probably only agreed to help her brother so she can go with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Because Mei-chan really doesn't like her brother." Yuuta replied.

"Since he sold her?"

"To put it very bluntly, yes." Yuuta said. "Well, her family is really complicated, but she doesn't like giving her brother a lot of favours. And since she decided to this time, there has to be something special about the cruise, and the person she's bringing with her."

"I doubt it." Mayuzumi shut off the idea. It was a ridiculous idea. Really ridiculous idea.

"Well, I don't, either does Kao-chan, and we've both known her for longer than you have, Chihiro."

Mayuzumi decided to keep quiet and return his attention to his light novel. Yuuta's words, _did_ , however, stick in his mind.

No, he had no interest in the stupid girl.

Albeit she's not stupid.

But no, he was not interested in her.

* * *

Black hoodie, black short shorts.

The short black hair parted in the middle.

The same pair of amber eyes.

The same light complexion that reminded him of a ghost. Makeup free.

She was not in the driver's seat. In fact, she was leaning on the car door, on the passenger side, with a lollipop in her mouth. She was bickering with the person in the driver's seat in her usual kansai-ben*. Actually, it wasn't even the car Mayuzumi usually recognised. Besides him, Yuuta gasped.

"She let him drive her." Yuuta gaped. "She _hates_ letting Aki-nii drive."

"Her brother?" Mayuzumi asked. Yuuta nodded.

"Mei-chan, give me a ride too?" Yuuta yelled as he quickened his steps to Meichō, who took the lollipop out of her mouth and looked over to Mayuzumi, and then at Yuuta. "Pretty please?"

"Ask the driver." She said to Yuuta. "Who, unfortunately, is not me today."

"Aki-nii, can I?" Yuuta leaned into the open window of the passenger seat. Apparently he got an affirmative because he straightened up and grinned. "I love BMWs."

"Traitor." Meichō deadpanned and looked at Mayuzumi. "Senpai, get in, time to experience dead driving. Also, there is no need to introduce yourself."

"Aki-nii drives _safe_ , Mei-chan." Meichō shot Yuuta a disgusted look. "Safe is good."

"You're the last person I want to hear the word 'safe' from." Meichō deadpanned and grabbed Mayuzumi's light novel in his hand. "Another new one? How much time do you spend reading, senpai?"

"Not enough." Mayuzumi shook his head. Meichō opened the door to the passenger seat. "Well, get in the car, because Akihito is shouting us lunch."

"Really, Aki-nii?" Yuuta asked and quickly ran to the other side of the car.

"Wait, what, Meichō!" Mayuzumi sat in the seat behind the passenger and got his first look at the driver, who was turned so he could look at Meichō. Mayuzumi felt that he understood the emotions behind that sentence way too well.

Black hair, a much darker complexion than his sister.

But the same amber eyes.

He was, however, dressed a lot more _Japanese_ than his sister.

"You said you're shouting, didn't say what." Meichō said as he started the engine. "For someone with the character for bright in his name, you're really not that bright."**

"Mei!" Akihito almost whined. At least they sounded the same then, Mayuzumi allowed himself to note. "We're going to be late."

"No, we're not." Meichō said. By the sound of it she had popped the lollipop back into her mouth. "It's only because you drive like this."

Mayuzumi had realised when Akihito stepped on the gas. The car ran smoothly, and he did not take strange and unnecessary lane changes, or jerking turns. It was nice, but it was…boring. He really didn't understand why he thought that way. He blamed Meichō.

"I drive like this because it's not against the law, Mei."

"And it's safer." Yuuta piped in.

"And it bores me." Meichō ended. "What's the point of getting imports in the first place?"

"Because they drive smoothly."

"Fuel consumption goes up, and maintenance costs so much more." Meichō pointed out. "Doesn't look as nice when its modded."

"Aki-nii, she's a lost cause." Yuuta sighed. "I think it's time we give up."

"KataYuu, shut up."

"We're getting from place A to B," Mayuzumi started slowly. "It doesn't matter as long as that condition is fulfilled."

"Senpai, that's really…anti-romantic." Meichō said.

"I will strangle you." Mayuzumi deadpanned. He had gotten used to saying that around the girl. She seemed to think of it as a joke. And she continued to think of it as a joke as she laughed. Yuuta however, spent an entire second looking horrified, then incredibly stunned.

"Aww, you know you love me, senpai." She turned and winked at him. He scowled. "And KataYuu, close your mouth."

"Chihiro, this is the first time I've seen you with expression." Yuuta commented once he tried to overcome his shock. " _And_ it's the first time I've seen Mei-chan laughing at a threat."

"Mei, where are we going?" Akihito asked, effectively ending the conversation.

"Latte," Meichō replied after a short pause. "Then we can drop KataYuu off when we get to the store."

"Mei-chan, did you pre-order clothes?" Yuuta asked.

"Of course, Emi's clothes are the best." Meichō answered.

"Even Chihiro's?" Yuuta questioned.

"Yup."

"How do you know his measurements? Have you two-" Yuuta was cut off by both Mayuzumi's book to the head and Meichō throwing something at him that hit him square in the forehead. She had thrown…a part of a wind wiper….? "Ow, wait Mei-chan where did you get a broken windscreen wiper from?"

"I spent the morning fixing this piece of crap car, where do you think I got it from?" Meichō sighed. "Also, how many times to do you think I've taken senpai shopping? Of course I would know his measurements. Plus, school data bases are so easy to get into these days I could do it in my sleep."

"Mei, that's against the law."

"My existence is against the law thanks to a certain someone." Meichō countered. "I just do what I must."

"You could've just asked him."

"Senpai, would you have told me if I asked?" Meichō asked.

"No." Mayuzumi replied simply.

"See?" Meichō said. "Say KataYuu, can I get you to get me some more car parts when you've got time?"

"Mei-chan, where are your muscles when you need them?" Yuuta complained. "And you just hit me with a broken windscreen wiper."

"I will pay you enough to buy Kaori that birthday gift." Meichō offered. Mayuzumi could see that Yuuta froze. And after a very long time, he spoke.

"You're kidding me, in one go?"

"In one go." Meichō confirmed. Yuuta swallowed.

"I will do it."

"Money's slave." Meichō chuckled.

"Kao-chan's slave." Yuuta corrected.

"I was talking about human nature."

"Mei, enough." Akihito cut in. "And you've got more important things to do than getting car parts."

"This isn't my mission." Meichō countered. "And it's my money, why do you care?"

"Because I'm your brother." Akihito said calmly.

"Aw, go to hell." Meichō sighed. "We're not having this conversation again."

And everyone fell silent.

* * *

"Aww I'm a genius." Meichō muttered with a proud grin. She was looking straight at Mayuzumi, who had changed into a suit. A dark grey shirt and a light blue waist coat, finished with a blazer and pants in the same colour of light grey. It reminded Mayuzumi of his Rakuzan uniform, except he was given a red tie. It fit bizarrely well. "The blue and the red really makes the outfit."

"Mei, when did you gain a fashion sense?" Akihito was looking at Mayuzumi in clear shock. "Or have you just not been caring for this entire time?"

"Since when did I care about how you look?" Meichō rolled her eyes at her brother, and grabbed a bright red dress from the chair besides her. "Let me go change."

"I'm sorry." Akihito said to Mayuzumi when Meichō was in the change room. And before Mayuzumi could ask what he meant, he explained. "For Meichō, she must've dragged you into a lot of trouble."

Mayuzumi's expression, he wasn't too aware he had anything, must've told Akihito all he needed to know because Akihito laughed.

"True, a lot must be an understatement." He smiled drily at Mayuzumi. "Hence, I'm sorry."

"You didn't drag me into trouble." Mayuzumi clarified. "You have nothing to apologise for."

"She's still my sister, and it's my fault she's like this now." Akihito shrugged. "Also, I suggest you buy life insurance, because her driving is bound to kill someone one day, if not herself."

"If you don't bore us to death first, Akihito."

Mayuzumi turned.

The same short black hair parted in the middle.

The same pair of amber eyes.

The same light complexion that reminded him of a ghost. Makeup free.

Changed was the black hoodie and the short shorts. In place was a red dress that hugged her figure. The red Mayuzumi had despised for a while because of Akashi.

But it suited her.

She did a twirl.

The dress was backless, held up by the ribbons tied into a bow at the back of her neck. And showed a lot more skin than Japanese people were used to. Mayuzumi for one, was uncomfortable. It flared out from the waist down in irregular lengths and semi see-through lace.

"What do you think?" Meichō was addressing Mayuzumi.

"What are you, a fox-spirit?"

"I'm a human being." Meichō replied with a cheeky grin. "It suits me, right?"

"Mei, don't you think it shows a little too much skin?"

"Still better than that one girl who latched onto you the other time." Akihito blanched at Meichō's words, obviously remembering something he didn't particularly want to. "I'm gonna go find Emi to do my makeup."

And she bounded away.

"My sister, is much too confident in her martial arts ability." Akihito shook his head and sighed. "Though, I don't quite doubt she has the potential to stab someone to death with those shoes."

"Or she could just be unaware." Mayuzumi heard himself mutter. Akihito looked at him.

"As if," Akihito told him. "She's an employee of the company for a reason."

Mayuzumi didn't answer, and Akihito led him out to the car.

"I just remembered," Akihito said as he sat down at the wheel. "Do not let my sister touch alcohol. Disaster does not cover the consequences."

"Ok." Mayuzumi noted.

* * *

This time, Mayuzumi knew when things began to go wrong. And he was definitely 100% at fault. Akihito had obtained what he needed very quickly, and they had to act natural to kill the rest of the time. Which was ok, until he lost sight of Meichō while Akihito was in the toilet.

Akihito had immediately blanched and told him to find Meichō, and hopefully she hadn't touched any alcohol yet. But when Mayuzumi found her, she had a piece of broken glass at someone's throat.

"Oi, what are you doing?"

"He was feeling me up." Meichō told him, her eyes were not focused. Probably alcohol.

"Get off him, you're about to gut him." Mayuzumi grabbed her arm. Meichō looked unhappily at him for a moment, before reluctantly pulling away from the man. He ran, and Meichō's eyes trained on Mayuzumi.

"Say senpai," She started, her arms wrapping around Mayuzumi's torso. In her heels, the top of her head was just up to his shoulders, which meant when she looked up, their faces were much, much, much too close. Mayuzumi froze. "You never told me if the dress suited me."

"Why do you ask?" Mayuzumi had given up thinking. Some part of him registered that she had probably put perfume on. It was a nice fragrance. She was still looking up at him with her pair of amber eyes.

"Because, I want to know." She whined.

"It suits you."

"Then, does senpai think I'm pretty?" She asked.

"I," Mayuzumi caught himself, but the girl's amber eyes were staring right at him, as if digging his soul. He completely gave up. "I think you are."

And then before Mayuzumi could register anything in his mind, she kissed him.

A moment of completely shock, but it was a warmth he somewhat appreciated. He kissed her back.

When they broke apart, Mayuzumi's brain began working again.  
Meichō was laughing.

She didn't taste like alcohol.

The little vixen had set up a trick.

And he had fallen into it.

Like he had fallen for her.

"Goddammit Meichō."

"Your own fault for letting your guard down," She chimed.

* * *

 _*Kansai-Ben: accent in the Osaka, Kyoto ish regions. Nara is right next to Kyoto so, there we go._

 _**Akihito (明仁) - so the AKI bit of the name is the character for bright (and the character for a lot of other things to because Asian language). And it's a pun that relies on Japanese knowledge and English knowledge but I thought it was a nice pun. It's probably not funny. But you know..._

 _On the other hand, little trivia. 梅_ _蝶 is the two kanji for Meicho. It means...plum-blossom butterfly._

 _Murasaki xx_


	9. Chapter 8

_And so the main story comes to a tentative close here. DO NOT FREAK OUT THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL ENDING. Seriously if I cut so many corners for a story I will end my own life first it's ok there is more. For more information on how this story will go after this story...go the the end._

 _Also I edited this and thought...Mayuzumi feels super OOC, because in canon story he is like...so emotionless on the outside. BUT, I have an explanation for his actions in my story, and I feel like I should explain why I constructed Meichō as she is, since canonically, Mayuzumi's type of girl is someone quiet.  
_

 _Because Mayuzumi does feel a lot internally, I interpreted him as someone who hides a lot underneath his indifference. And because he hides it, it's not necessarily he's trying to, it's just there hasn't been anyone who was capable of drawing it out. During the Winter Cup, when he finally decided to properly express himself, I feel like that was a lot due to Akashi annoying him to do so. Which meant, Meichō somehow became someone who would do things to annoy Mayuzumi. And with further interpretation, and the help of horoscope knowledge, Mayuzumi is one of those people who could be really sweet to the person he likes (albeit, I feel like he just gets really mad at my nonsensical OC).  
_

 _Anyways, I have no idea why I started explaining. No one asked, Murasaki, go back to your corner._

 _*Takes own advice*_

 _Enjoy the chapter._

* * *

Meichō looked at the picture she had obtained from the CCTV of the ship. She couldn't believe just how easily Mayuzumi had fallen for her trick. She couldn't find the capability to stop grinning.  
"Mei, that expression is almost creepy." Kaori commented as she took a seat opposite of Meichō. It was after school, and they were at a fast food joint. That alone was something Meichō wasn't used to doing, that and actually turning up to class.

Meichō looked away from her phone, locked it and smiled at her friend, who had gotten her drink for her too. She took a sip of the strawberry smoothie and let her eyes drink in her surroundings.

"What's wrong with enjoying something?" Meichō asked. Then she dropped her smile. "Say, Kaori, I need to use your laptop for something."

"I don't like that look." Kaori frowned.

"By Monday," Meichō said. "By Monday I will disappear from this place."

"What, why, the heck is going on Mei?"

"I have a relocation order from the agency." Meichō smiled.

"Where?"

"America, or at least, that's what I was told." Meichō replied. And then Kaori's face morphed into realisation.

"That's why you were allowed to bring the weirdo to the cruise." Kaori commented. Meichō nodded. "I thought, they were finally letting you free."

"As if, you forget how much work I've done for them." Meichō shrugged. "The only way I'm ever getting out of there is, well, you know what it is."

"Are you planning on telling anyone else?" Kaori asked. Meichō shook her head.

"I've had my fun." Meichō dismissed easily. "You shouldn't know either."

"Sometimes, I really want you to be happy Mei," Kaori started with a sigh. "But a lot of other times, I really, really hate you."

"Doesn't everyone?" Meichō laughed.

Kaori just glared at her.

* * *

For someone who loved buying clothes, Meichō thought to herself, she really didn't have a lot of luggage to pack. All the posters she had already sent along for the agency to take, they had allowed her that in advance.

They were feeling really kind.

Meichō looked at the signature board. That was something she didn't want the people from the agency to touch. It was precious to begin with, not to mention Mayuzumi had gotten it for her especially.

It was her treasure.

Besides the photo in her phone. The photo was bits of data she protected with almost too much zeal. Memories faded, but not bits of data. They always remained somewhere, and with her skills, she could keep them until she was no longer alive.

Meichō sighed, her hoodie seemed almost too warm in her little apartment. Well, she reasoned, it was summer, and it was a winter hoodie. She sat on the bare mattress, and took out her phone once more. She was going to miss Japan, but it wasn't like she could argue with the agency.

It wasn't like she could argue with…

She felt tears.

Meichō hadn't cried since the agency had forced her to learn more advanced hacking skills. She had convinced herself that tears could no longer be part of her life when she completed her first task with hacking skills she had learnt the previous day. She had, with her own hands, erased herself off of the register.

Her code name was Banshee.

She had lived almost ten years under that code name. She had led countless lives under fake identities. She had almost forgotten her original name. Until she was moved to Japan for a prolonged mission. That had been two years ago.

But she had an important job.

If she let anything important slip. She would die, so would everyone who had once known her. She could only leave.

She was close. She was close to the secret.

And when she has obtained all the information she needed. She could return to Japan.

For the time being, she would let her brother handle everything.

And she would keep up all her acts.

* * *

The next day, all traces of Watanabe Meichō had been erased from Nara. The school had been given some strange information regarding her transfer. Her best friend Kaori told the story the loudest, and everyone came to accept the absence of the girl with short hair and clear amber eyes.

At least, everyone in Nara.

Mayuzumi's mood, as described by Yuuta, was "Chihiro, it's like your emotions stopped during the five stages break up at stage two, and became constant anger."

There was no break up.

There was no denial.

He was just angry.

And when Kaori gave him a note with another bunch of codes written on it, he had ripped it apart and burnt it with a lighter he had produced out of thin air.

It was always the younger brats who swept into his life like a drift of wind, and destroyed the equilibrium he had set for his own life.

He was going to hate her for life.

 _Two Years Later_

Mayuzumi looked at the pair of expensive headphones that he had taken out of the box. He hadn't gotten them. He would definitely know if he had gotten them.

Yuuta and Kaori wouldn't have the money.

His parents…why would they get him anything? And then he remembered, it was his birthday soon. Maybe they _were_ from his parents.

"Chihiro, did you get new headphones?" Apparently not his parents.

Mayuzumi turned to his mother, who was carrying the laundry basket, and shrugged. It wasn't the first birthday he had gotten something bizarrely expensive, but to his tastes, he would admit. His last birthday…it had been a present from Watanabe Akihito. Because the package had a name on it. It was a laptop upgrade part that he needed. How Watanabe Akihito knew he needed it, was completely beyond Mayuzumi. This one didn't have a name.

"Oh yeah, Chihiro, if you are going to drive, can you get me a few heavy things from the supermarket?" His mother asked, looking at the keys in his hand. Mayuzumi nodded, and his mother handed him a list. Her eyes one-overed the headphones again. "This reminds me, the other day, your father got a promotion out of complete blue."

"He did?"

"Apparently the original person who was supposed to take the position got in a huge thing with corruption, and your father became the next best employee." She shrugged. His mother was intelligent, but ever since she discovered that she couldn't converse with her son the way she wanted, she had just chosen not to think. Mayuzumi knew she was thinking of something.

"Do you think something is fishy?" Mayuzumi asked his mother as he put on his outdoor shoes. His mother smiled.

"I do, but it's good fishy, isn't it?"

"I suppose." Mayuzumi replied.

"Oh yeah, Chihiro?" Mayuzumi turned just before he left the house to face his mother. She was smirking. He felt a shiver down his spine. "It's about time you get a girlfriend."

Mayuzumi shut the door behind him quickly, with a certain amount of force. He could hear his mother's laughter.

Outside of the door sat the modded Toyota that used to belong to Meichō. Toyota MR2, 2004, she had changed the wheels and some other parts Mayuzumi didn't even care to think about. That was really all he knew about the car. And he had somehow ended up with the car under his name.

When Yuuta had told him about it, he could almost see the stupid girl laughing.

"Senpai, isn't it about time you learnt how to drive?"

Manual, with a slippery clutch. Trying to get along with Ume had made him, on more than one occasion, want to burn the car. But he had ended up making Ume accept that he was her new owner. It was like dog training, but harder. At least, Mayuzumi could now tell what Ume's moods were. She seemed to be, however, permanently sulky because she liked her old owner better.

"What can I do about that?" Mayuzumi had told the car on numerous occasions. It was like hanging out with Meichō for the short while had made him loopy too, not that he would ever admit it. The car would always respond with a huff, as if Ume believed her owner would never abandon her.

Mayuzumi got in the car. Ume was in an irritable mood.

"Why?" He muttered as he started the engine. Ume stuttered slightly before actually starting. "You got serviced two weeks ago."

And then Ume just, gave up?

Dog training, but definitely harder.

He drove out of the neighbourhood and auto-piloted Ume to the racing ranges near the countryside. He had made a habit of going there to clear his mind ever since he got his full license. He had once, and just once, tried Meichō's bizarrely ridiculous driving, and he could only say it didn't go well. His conclusion had been that driving like that required a specific level of skill and recklessness. Both of which he didn't really have.

He admitted that.

But it didn't stop him from mastering braking at high speeds.

* * *

Meichō sat in the outdoor café with Yuuta and Kaori. They looked like they both wanted to kill the girl on the spot and hug her to death.

Her short hair had grown to her waist in large waves, and she had gained a wispy fringe. Her amber eyes now shone with a little more mischief, and she had apparently abandoned the hoodie and shorts fashion she had favoured two years ago. She now wore a satin blouse and dress pants. In short, Meichō looked nothing like Meichō.

Which was what Yuuta had told her when he saw her for the first time in two years. Meichō had simply laughed, while Kaori looked him dead in the eyes and told him he was a tool. Kaori on the other hand, had told Meichō it was a nice change.

"So are you back for real, or for another mission?" Kaori asked her friend. Meichō took a sip of the ice coffee (It was March and in Nara, Kaori thought Meichō of off her head*) and shrugged.

"Which one would you prefer more?" She asked, Kaori rolled her eyes.

"Chihiro would prefer you stayed." Yuuta offered.

"I have clearance from the Company, I will only take jobs given that I don't need to relocate and it's physically safe." Meichō told her friends. Yuuta just looked at her blankly, while realisation slowly dawned on Kaori's face.

"You're kidding." Kaori asked after a while. Yuuta looked at the two girls in confusion, but Meichō just smiled. "No, you're not kidding. What the heck Meichō."

"What exactly am I missing?"

"KataYuu, who exactly did you think I work for?" Meichō asked him. Yuuta thought for a while.

"A hacking agency?"

"Yes, a hacking agency, but who do you think I _actually_ work for?" Meichō tried to prompt.

"He's not going to make the connection, Mei." Kaori deadpanned, and looked at Yuuta. "The Company, refers to the information agency in America."

"FBI?"

"The CIA you tool." Kaori rolled her eyes in exasperation, but her voice was soft. "I'm presuming Akihito-nii is also part of it."

"Akihito was the double agent." Meichō said. "And I was the spy who he put into the agency."

"Can we talk about something else?" Yuuta offered.

"Sure, how's Ume?" Meichō changed the topic. Kaori just sighed at her boyfriend.

"Chihiro has it,"

"Her, but yes, go on."

"He has a license now, but according to him, Ume sulks all the time."

"My poor baby," Meichō frowned, and took out a set of keys from her handbag. "I wonder if Sen would fare better with senpai."

"Sen?"

"Honda Civic, slightly less modded, because I had to get it from America to here." Meichō told them. "He's a little less, temperamental."

"Maybe he would like it better with his name sake." ** Kaori laughed.

"Akihito named him you know," Meichō said. "He said that Mayonnaise was a dumb name."

"No offense but that really is a dumb name." Yuuta commented.

"I was busy back then, didn't have time to find a good name." Meichō said. "On the other hand, I now hold an official documentation to say that I have graduated university."

"And they let you have that at eighteen years old?" Yuuta asked.

"Of course they did, I completed all the programming with high distinction you know." Meichō replied easily. "Plus, the Company liked having me pose as a normal citizen."

"A normal citizen without a name in the register?" Kaori asked.

"A normal citizen _with_ a name in the register." Meichō told her with a smirk. Kaori smiled. "For the first time in over ten years."

"That's always a good start." Yuuta said.

"I also now have boasting rights because I'm super rich." Meichō laughed.

"They let you keep the money?" Kaori asked.

"Of course not, but they said I could keep whatever I got during my time as a spy." Meichō said. Kaori blanched.

"You did not do what I think you did."

"Why do you think I ended up with five cars under my name at one point?"

"Mei, did you know I hate you sometimes?"

"Wasn't it most of the time?"

"Shut up, and you know, welcome back."

"Let's hope I get the same welcome from senpai."

"If he doesn't strangle you to death, it would be nice."

* * *

Two years changed a lot of things, as Meichō found out when she had to use the GPS to find her way anywhere. But what didn't change, was the person she knew as Mayuzumi Chihiro. Well, he had changed. His hair was a little shorter, his laptop was upgraded (with the part she had made her brother send him for his birthday the year before), and he had begun opting for some slightly more colourful clothes. And by that, Meichō meant that he wasn't wearing grey so much anymore.

He was sitting underneath a tree, reading (again? Did he ever do anything else with his free time?) and he had his old headphones in.

She was sure she sent it so that it would've arrived.

Oh well, never mind.

She parked Sen next to Ume. And saw Mayuzumi look up to see who had joined him. She had her tinted windows up, which meant he merely narrowed his eyes and returned to reading.

"It doesn't kill to be more interested in others, senpai." She muttered to herself and turned off the engine. Opting only to take her keys and phone, she stepped out of the white Honda Civic. Mayuzumi didn't look up again, so she made her way towards him.

And when she was near enough, Mayuzumi looked up.

* * *

Long, wavy black hair, straight fringe.

White satin blouse.

Black dress pants.

It was an open space, why couldn't the female find another spot?

And then he saw it.

The pair of clear amber eyes and seemed to always dig deep into his soul.

He recognised them.

"Missed me?" Watanabe Meichō asked him. She seemed to have rid of the rough edge to her voice. She also seemed to look like a respected member of society, instead of a girl from the ghettos. Mayuzumi still wanted to strangle her.

When had he not?

But he had never had the heart to, no matter how much complaining he wanted to do.

"Goddammit Meichō."

"Senpai, you use that both as a goodbye _and_ greeting?" Meichō asked. Before he could think his actions through, he had thrown his book at her. She had frozen for a split second before catching the book right before it hit her face. "You should really treat your books better, senpai."

"It wouldn't be if you weren't crazy."

"I'm not though," Mayuzumi hadn't moved, which meant that Meichō had sat down beside him, and handed him the book. "And it wasn't my fault that senpai fell for my trick."

"You're the one who's complaining?" Mayuzumi questioned. If she could be a little less infuriating, maybe they would be having a nicer conversation. At least, Mayuzumi believed so. Meichō visibly pouted.

"I gave you Ume to substitute me." Meichō offered. Mayuzumi just looked at the girl incredulously. Was she even being serious? "And the laptop part." She counted. "Though that's a birthday present too, _but_ , you get me senpai."

"No, I really don't."

"Naww, come on." Her amber eyes blinked up at him as she held onto his arm. Her expression had formed into a pout. The puppy dog eyes attack. Mayuzumi looked down at the girl for a moment. Then another moment.

He gave in.

"Fine," Mayuzumi heard himself say, then immediately caught himself as her expression changed to a smile. "But you better explain."

"Of course," This time she replied easily. She scooted closer to Mayuzumi, and leaned on his arm. Seriously what was wrong with her. "Where would you like me to start?"

"Start with the reason why its March and you have no jacket." Mayuzumi said. Meichō looked surprised for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Compared to having no heater in Canadian winter, I think this is really nice." Meichō told him. "Also, I thought senpai would ask something else."

"Looking at you makes me cold." Mayuzumi said. Meichō looked as if she was pondering about something, and then promptly stood up. "What?"

"Getting a jacket." Meichō told him. And then she casted a look on the grass. "And maybe a picnic blanket, and lunch?"

"From where exactly?"

"Sen, of course." Meichō pointed at the car as if it was a given. "These days I don't leave the house without being well prepared."

"Prepared for a picnic?"

"Of course." Meichō said before sashaying away to the car. Mayuzumi watched the girl busy herself at the car, and felt another part of his anger slip away. Really, she was not going to give him a chance to get angry at her, was she? And when she returned with a light brown coat, carrying a basket and a picnic blanket, Mayuzumi felt all the complaints slip away from him.

"I've missed you."

"Senpai, at least wait until I've got a voice recording device handy to say that." Mayuzumi snapped to his senses. Did he really just say that...he did. Meichō set the things in her hands down and looked down at Mayuzumi, and the next instant, she had her phone out and was taking photos.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving important moments." Meichō replied as she showed Mayuzumi her phone.

Dear god he was blushing.

"Senpai, you need to get up, so I can put the blanket down." Meichō said to him all of a sudden. Mayuzumi slowly stood up, but Meichō did not move to spread the blanket, merely smiled at him.

They just stared at each other.

"So, senpai, are you going to kiss me or not?" Meichō asked in a joking tone, but her voice was soft, and the wind carried her words to Mayuzumi.

Mayuzumi stepped forward and tilted her chin up.

Apparently, she wasn't expecting him to actually do it.

He kissed her.

She froze for a split second, and then melted into the kiss.

* * *

"Senpai, we're swapping cars."

"Why?"

"Because, Ume doesn't like you."

"She's still under my name."

"No, she's not, plus, if you miss her, just walk three houses down from your own."

"What did you do?"

"Move Ume back under my name, move Sen to your name. And then, bought the house that was on sale that so happened to be near senpai's."

"Goddammit Meichō."

"Come on, you know you love me."

*Main Story End*

* * *

 _So ok, here's how the rest of this story will pan out. Unlike these, they will vary in length, depending on the topic of the chapter. I've planned a few chapters of Meichō's past and her time in America, as well as what happens to her relationship with Mayuzumi and stuff. The chapters from here on will have names, but they will jump between a few time periods. So one might be from_ _Meichō's past but the next might be from some time from the future of where this chapter ended. Idk, is it spoilers if I said it will go further into the future?  
_

 _Are people even interested in marriage and married life these days?_

 _Actually if there is anything people wants to read in particular, you can leave a review or PM me or something._

 _I want to upload the Midorima story on his birthday._

 _But I do not have time._

 _Help me._

 _Murasaki xx_


	10. One Canadian Winter

_It's a short one. Promise the next one will be longer. Honest._

 _I just realised that I made some mistakes with time in the previous chapters...why am I like this when I write stories._

 _And yes, there will be more banter ( **Cooliceprincess** and also whoever else was wondering). There is no story if there is no banter between our hacker and Mayuzumi who gets into way too much crap because of her. _

_Anyways, please enjoy._

* * *

 **Canadian Winter**

"Achoo!" Akihito walked through the door of the apartment, and almost fell to his death. Why exactly did his sister prefer to sit in the dark? Also, he was so sure he had someone send her a heater. His hand searched for the light switch, and found it laying in a switch on position. "Mei, what is going on?"

"My back-up generator can only power the computer." Meichō said to him from the dark. "And if I hook it up to anything other than the computer, I will get killed."

"Mei, this is Canada, and its winter right now, at least put the heater on." Akihito really didn't understand his sister sometimes. From god knows where, the electricity came back on. Akihito moved to untangle cords from his feet and looked in the general direction of where Meichō's voice had came from.

Meichō was half buried in a gigantic pile of beanbags, all of which Akihito did not remember her getting. Her fingers were moving on the keyboard, rapidly typing things Akihito didn't have the talent for.

"Happy now?" Meichō asked him. The heater was still off. Akihito pointed at the heater and Meichō sighed. "It's broken."

"Get a new one then."

"I spent this month's budget on these." Meichō nodded at the beanbags that she was buried in. Akihito never wanted to hit his sister more.

"I will get you one." Akihito said.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because being warm takes away my motivation to do work. And I need to work." Meichō deadpanned. And Akihito stayed silent.

* * *

 _"Onii-chan, what are you doing?" Akihito turned and saw his younger sister, who had skipped into his room without knocking. Again. He smiled, at least his sister didn't dislike him as a result of the eight-year age gap._

 _"Mei, wanna watch a movie with me?" Akihito offered. His five-year-old sister looked at him with her round, amber eyes, and held up a box of condoms._

 _"I'm here to run an errand. Otou-san told me to give this to Onii-chan." She said. Akihito quickly plucked the box out of her hands and banished it to his drawer. "He said that once Onii-chan finds a girlfriend, you will find a use of it."_

 _"Oyaji, what are you making Mei do?" Akihito yelled, knowing his father would hear. And true enough, his reply came in a hearty laughter. "I'm so going to tell Kaa-san when she gets home."_

 _"Onii-chan, what was it?" Her round amber eyes blinked at him. Akihito sighed._

 _"You will know when you are older, Mei."_

 _"Is it bad?"_

 _"It's just not for you to know yet, Mei." Akihito told his sister. She seemed to consider it for a while as her face morphed into a frown. And then she looked up at him and smiled brightly._

 _"I trust Onii-chan, since you told me you will protect Mei from bad things."_

 _"Of course, Mei. I'm your brother."_

* * *

 _"Mei, I need your help."_

 _"Onii-chan?" The large amber eyes looked at him with concern._

 _"Mei, I need your computer knowledge."_

 _"Onii-chan, will the scary people hurt you if Mei doesn't help?"_

 _Silence._

 _"Onii-chan, Mei doesn't want Onii-chan to die."_

 _"Mei, I'm sorry."_

* * *

Akihito knew almost too well how the agency treated his sister. But they both knew it was necessary for getting the agency back for the death of their parents. But he was also well aware he should not have put her in that situation. Akihito looked up and saw Meichō staring at him.

"You know, Akihito," Meichō started as she pulled herself out of the beanbags, and made her way to the next room and turned on the kettle. "For someone who once told me ever so confidently you were going to protect me from bad things, you're really a scaredy cat."

"Mei, just because I complained about the cold, does not make me a scaredy cat."

"I wasn't talking about that, and you know it." Meichō returned with a mug of instant mocha and passed it to him. Akihito only knew because it was the only thing that he had seen the last time he looked into her cupboard. He took a sip and discovered that it was instant coffee. He must've looked surprised because Meichō smirked. "I stocked up since the last time you were here."

"On the things in your cupboard?" Akihito asked. Meichō's smirk seemed to become somewhat infuriating when she shrugged.

"Check for yourself, Onii-chan."

"That used to be cute when you were five," Akihito sighed as he set down the mug and made his way to the other room. "Now it just sounds like you're mocking me."

"Say, Onii-chan," Meichō had taken the chance to sit on his back while he was squat, looking through her cupboards. It seemed that Meichō had gotten herself a lot of instant noodles, and, as Akihito quickly noticed, a lot lighter.

"Hold the thought," Akihito interrupted. "But when was the last time you slept?"

"I don't know, I don't think I've slept since the last time Onii-chan was over." Meichō was not sleeping. Again. But before he could say anything, Meichō spoke. "I was going to ask whether Onii-chan thinks Senpai would be happy if I called him Onii-chan."

"That sounds like a kink I really don't want to know Mei." Akihito replied and Meichō stood up. Akihito stood and looked at his sister. "You've gone loopy from the lack of sleep, go sleep."

"I'm not done checking the information." Meichō complained, no, whined.

"You can do that once you've slept." Akihito said as he dragged her to the bedroom which he knew she barely ever used.

"You can't leave until I wake up." Meichō said after a while. "If there's a call from the agency you need to answer them."

"Ok, that's fine, go sleep."

'And hopefully when you wake up, you forget that thought.' Akihito thought to himself, and prayed for the sake of Mayuzumi.

* * *

"Say, Senpai?" Mayuzumi turned and looked at the girl who was sitting at the dining table of his house, wearing a black hoodie and a pair of black short shorts. Her long hair now made her look a little like some rich girl that had been kidnapped by mafia, instead of the ghetto girl he had remembered her as.

"What is it?"

"I was just wondering," Meichō took a pause in her sentence and smiled innocently. Mayuzumi felt a chill go down his back. "What if I called Senpai Onii-chan?"

"Do. Not. Do. That."

A mischievous grin. And Meichō slipped out of the chair and made her way to the kitchen, where he was making coffee. She wrapped her arms around his left arm, and looked up at him with her pair of clear amber eyes.

"Onii-chan." Meichō's voice was, cute, but infuriating. It sounded like she was whining.

"I'm debating whether I should strangle you, or throw you out of my house."

"But Onii-chan, Mei's a good girl."

"You know what, I will leave."

"Aww, don't leave." She had stopped the whiny tone. And then in a whisper, she finished her sentence. "You know you love me, Chihiro."

"Goddammit Meichō."

* * *

 _Why am I like this._

 _Why is Mei like this._

 _Also I apologise if that Onii-chan thing borderline, or fully, offended people. It's dumb banter because people go loopy when they don't get enough sleep. I think I called someone 'Daddy' once when I didn't sleep from three days. I remember receiving a bottle of sleeping pills the next day._

 _Good kids should not do what I do._

 _Sleep is good._

 _Also if it's cold, get a heater, or your joints will swell up and that hurts._

 _Really, don't be me._

 _Murasaki xx_


	11. Nightmares

_This chapter is short and blame me. Actual it's late AND short. I wrote it in a hurry because I've been spending too much time trying to stop laughing at Kim Heechul's savage quips and incredible TV knowledge. It's ok to be mad at me. I understand._

 _Also, I no longer know what is acceptable on the internet so - quick warning this chapter is a little bit...suggestive and vaguely inappropriate. The thing is, I'm 18 and I don't know what is considered socially acceptable. 90% of my male friends are gay and they are ok with talking to me about topics like underwear and whether someone is cute or not. Some people are not ok with that._

 _Man, I don't know._

* * *

Nightmares

 _The young girl had been woken up that night by furious shaking. She opened her eyes drowsily, trying to comprehend the situation when she breathed smoke in through her nose. Through the coughing and heavy amount of dust in the air, she could make out the silhouette of her parents in the distance, while the back of her brother's head came into her view. He was piggy-backing her, and running._

 _"Onii-chan?"_

 _"Not now Mei, just be very quiet for now." Came the reply. Meichō shut up, and let her brother carry her away from what she deemed to be smoke and fire. In the distance, five silhouettes joined her parents, and she felt Akihito tense beneath her. He hid behind a pillar and set Meichō down for a moment, peering out to gauge the situation. After a few seconds, the six-year-old girl heard her brother swear. He turned to her and looked at his sister with what Meichō later categorised as desperation. "Mei, can you run?"_

 _Meichō nodded at her brother, the look in his eyes scared her. She remembered her brother as kind and forgiving. He'd never looked at her like that, or even spoke to her with such a tone. Meichō wasn't stupid, she knew something was wrong. But she still wanted her brother to continue to be kind to her._

 _Akihito grabbed her hand and lead her away from their parents. Meichō didn't ask Akihito, some part of the young girl subconsciously knew she shouldn't ask. In fact, Meichō didn't make a single sound. She wouldn't until her brother said it was ok. He would protect her. She could trust him._

 _Meichō didn't know where they were, but she followed her brother, clinging onto his hand as they made their way through corridors and finally into a room. They were in a hotel._

 _They were in America._

 _Meichō finally remembered that her family had taken a vacation in America for her birthday. On February the 3_ _rd_ _, she would be seven._

 _Akihito shoved her into a closet. She didn't recognise the clothes, nor the room. He took off his watch and handed it to her._

 _"If I'm not back in five hours Mei, go to the police." He said hastily. Meichō nodded, and Akihito closed the doors._

 _Suddenly embraced by the darkness, the girl shivered and looked at the digital watch. A small glow of light told her the time was two twenty-two in the morning._

 _She could smell the faint lingering scent of cigarettes on the clothes. Her ears picked up a small sound outside of the wardrobe and she backed into the corner of the wardrobe, her small body tucked between some long gowns and dresses. The room quietened again, and she moved her head._

 _Her small hand came across something hard in a small bag. With the small stream of light from the cracks of the wardrobe, she opened up the bag, hoping to see something she could use to protect herself. Her small hand dug into the bag and took out a bullet looking object. There was a button at the end and she pressed it. The object began vibrating, with a substantial amount of noise through the empty room. She quickly pressed the button again, but the thing did not stop. In her panic, she untwisted the end of the bullet and it stopped, the battery dropping into her lap. She put the battery back into the object and dropped it into the bag again._

 _She didn't know what it was, but it looked like it might hurt someone if she swung it hard enough at their head._

 _And then she sat in silence, checking the watch every now and then, hoping she would see her brother soon._

 _When the door finally opened, it was not her brother._

 _Instinctively, the girl took out the bullet-like object and threw it at him. The man held his head as Akihito came into her view. The girl ran straight into his arms._

 _It was the same day that the not yet seven-year-old girl learnt that she would never have her parents with her to celebrate her birthday ever again. She remembered crying, and then she remembered a strong sense of emptiness when she understood reality._

* * *

Meichō sat up in the bed. It was winter, and the heater was turned off, yet she still had a thin sheet of sweat on her skin. She took a few deep breaths and calmed her pounding heart. She had the same dream every time it was near her birthday. She slowly began to register her surroundings.

Six forty-seven in the morning.

It was her room. The bed was king sized, and the other half was empty. There was lingering warmth, and she heard the shower from the en suite. She wrapped the sheets around her naked body and pushed her nightmares down. At least she hadn't woken up Mayuzumi. Or at least, she hoped she hadn't.

And then her phone buzzed on the bedside table.

Caller ID – Watanabe Akihito.

"You never ring this early in the morning." Meichō complained.

"But you're awake." Akihito deadpanned. "Dookyun is in town for a bit, do you want to go have tea with us or anything?"

"If he's got the time, sure, but not today." Meichō smiled. And then she remembered her nightmare. "Say, Akihito?"

"What is it?"

"Did I ever end up apologising to Dookyun about the time I threw that vibrator at his head?" Meichō asked.

"I thought we reached a silent agreement not to bring that up." Akihito replied. Meichō looked at the opening door where Mayuzumi was entering back into the bedroom. His expression told her he had heard her earlier question.

"I should really apologise." Meichō laughed.

"Let's just forget about that, Mei." Akihito sighed.

"You never know, what if Dookyun still hates me for that?"

"Then he would say so." Akihito quipped. "What happened for you to bring that up?"

"It's my birthday soon, Akihito." Meichō replied, her tone laced with melancholy. Akihito kept silent for a few moments.

"I will ask Dookyun. If he still holds a grudge, you can apologise to his face."

"Alright, thanks, Onii-chan."

"You're twenty-three, not six, stop calling me that."

"Talk to you later, Onii-chan."

"Mei-" And Meichō cut her brother off. Looking up, she readied herself to launch into the story.

* * *

 _And so...really, I'm vaguely sorry about the vibrator thing. I think it's funny._

 _Also, side-note, Mei washed her hands a lot after she understood what the bullet looking thing was. She was about ten._

 _Murasaki xx_


	12. Idea by Chance

_LATE_

 _I know, 4:21 p.m. on Wednesday as I finished the chapter._

 _BUT, there's another chapter within the week._

 _Promise._

* * *

Meichō was late, and it wasn't her fault.

Her stupid brother had insisted on driving and she was not happy about not making it through the traffic jam. That was last night. And she had gotten home at two in the morning. She wasn't too sure why there was even a traffic jam at that late into the night. But apparently, big parties involved lots of cars. And maybe accidents.

And she hadn't slept in a while.

So when she did, she slept like a baby.

Well, maybe not a baby, since Meichō knew they woke up several times in the middle of the night.

Log.

That was the word.

She slept like a log.

She shook those thoughts out of her head and looked at the time on her phone.

9:56 a.m.

Technically, she wasn't late.

They had agreed to meet up at 10:30 a.m.

But for the love of god she had to take the train like a normal person. Apparently normal eighteen-year-olds in Japan didn't drive. There normally wasn't a need to. But still. She wasn't familiar with the Kyoto subway system. Really, who was she kidding, she wasn't familiar with Japan after two years. She had barely managed to remember the roads to university (the only place she would let Mayuzumi drive her to) from her house.

Kaori had told her a week prior that she needed to leave her precious car at home because, and Meichō quote, it's Japan. And apparently double dates had some romance in it when they had to meet somewhere by taking the train. Meichō really didn't understand.

As far as she was concerned, Meichō hadn't even agreed to go on a double date. Not even by accident.

And when she spoke to Mayuzumi about it, he seemed equally annoyed.

Though, what he was annoyed about, Meichō could only take a wild guess.

50% because KataYuu had roped him into it and he really didn't want to. That, she was sure was the truth.

30% because he was liking Sen, who is a lot more his car than Ume ever was, and ever will be. Also verified truth, according to her 'human connection with cars' sensor.

15% because, and she suspected, he didn't want to be seen participating in a double date.

And the other 5% was because, and once again Meichō could only suspect, he didn't want to tell his mother what he was going to be up to.

According to Mayuzumi, explaining to his family the existence of Meichō in itself was mortifying. Even though, Meichō had even transferred herself into the same university as him so she seemed less suspicious. Meichō spent much of her time in Mayuzumi's lectures, since she had no need of a second engineering degree. She was, technically, a working adult. But her age didn't seem to agree with the rest of society.

Their usual dates involved Meichō lazing around in the small book shop Mayuzumi worked in. The owner of the bookshop was an old man who was a big fan of teasing them, and that one aspect guaranteed that he got along great with Yuuta. One-time Meichō had decided to invite Mayuzumi over for dinner. She cooked.

Then she decided she should never do it again because really, cooking took so much effort.

Cooking wasn't pressing '0's and '1's.

And that was too much effort.

As was heading to the amusement park on a Thursday.

* * *

It was a little before Christmas break, which meant, naturally, everyone was bizarrely festive. But it was a school day, which meant that there were less people than usual. Which improved Mayuzumi's mood, as Meichō was observing. Except, Kaori and Yuuta were both late. Actually, Meichō was later herself, since she had underestimated how long it took to get from one place to another.

She was used to speeding without the worry of tickets, not staying on one track waiting for the doors of the train to close. Really, why was she not allowed to drive again?

She shook her thoughts away and looked over at Mayuzumi, who was sitting in the seat opposite to hers at the café. He was reading, and well, they were attracting weird looks. Which really, at that point, didn't even surprise Meichō. She looked at her phone again when it buzzed in her hand, the caller ID was of Kaori.

"Mei, why is it, that you two don't talk?"

"Maybe because we were told to participate in this date without our consent?" Meichō offered. "Also, because I didn't sleep much last night?"

"Explain to me why, you are wearing clothes that makes you look like you are going to a business meeting?" Kaori and Yuuta were both standing by the table now. Mayuzumi looked up at them lazily, not even bothering to give them a greeting. Meichō just ended the call and locked her phone. "And Mayuzumi-senpai, do you have anything in your wardrobe that's not grey and white?"

"Kaori, unless you want to get me a whole new set of clothes, this is all I've got." Meichō told her. "Discount all the hoodies."

"It's like I dragged two old people out to the amusement park." Kaori complained.

"Well, let's teach the two old people what an amusement park is." Yuuta grinned. Meichō exchanged a look with Mayuzumi, and both of them shrugged.

* * *

Despite having a really bad morning, Meichō discovered that the thing called an amusement park was actually a lot more fun than she had imagined.

"Senpai, do you think it would be possible for rollercoasters to reach the speed of race cars?" Meichō mused as they sat down on a bench. Kaori and Yuuta had met some of Yuuta's friends, and they were now having an overly animated conversation somewhere to their right. Mayuzumi raised an eyebrow, his expression telling Meichō everything she needed to know about his answer. "Why not?"

"Just how strong is your death wish?" Mayuzumi asked her.

"You know, I went to a F1 race before," Meichō started. "Those can easily reach the speed of 160km/h."

"A roller coaster isn't a F1 race car, Watanabe." Meichō pouted at Mayuzumi's answer.

"One, I told you to stop calling me that," Meichō complained. "And two, it would be man-kind's single most magnificent invention if everyone can experience the speeds of a F1 race car on a roller coaster track."

"Things going that fast on land is really the antithesis of safe, much less on roller coaster tracks." Mayuzumi opted. His eyes told Meichō he didn't particularly want to have the conversation with her. Most likely for safety reasons. The gears in Meichō's head began turning, and she chose to ignore Mayuzumi, taking out her phone instead. "What are you doing, Meichō?"

"You will see senpai, you will see." Meichō replied absent-mindedly as she typed into her phone. It was only when Kaori forcibly removed her phone from her hand that she looked up. "I was mid calculation."

"For what?" Kaori asked, confused as to why Meichō was doing calculations in the middle of an amusement park, Mayuzumi looking obviously exasperated next to her. Meichō blinked, and held her hand out to get her phone.

"She wants roller coasters to go at the speed of F1 race cars." Mayuzumi told Kaori as Meichō finished the rest of her equation in her phone.

"What are F1 race cars?" Kaori asked.

"Single-seat auto racing cars." Yuuta told Kaori. "Chihiro, you really shouldn't encourage Mei-chan."

"I didn't!" Mayuzumi snapped.

"Um, how fast do they go?" Kaori asked, wondering exactly what the big deal was. Mayuzumi looked at Meichō's friend with a pointed look.

"There was a Honda that went up to 415km/h." Mayuzumi told her. Kaori's confusion morphed into horror as she quickly grabbed Meichō's phone from her again.

"Mei, let's drop the idea." Kaori suggested.

"I will do it later, give me back my phone first, Kaori." Meichō said. "It's not like I will force Kaori to go on it."

"Chihiro, 200-yen Mei-chan will definitely force Kaori onto it if she succeeds."

"I'm not making that bet."

"Come on, it's only 200-yen."

"KataYuu, you can go on it instead."

"Only if it's safe, Mei-chan."

"I will make sure they let you be the test subject." Meichō laughed.

* * *

"This is the first time I've seen someone quit their programming job to make an amusement ride." Yuuta commented as he walked into the room. Meichō sat at the desk, on the desk sat layers upon layers of paper. "When did you have time to get a physics major?"

"I don't just lazy around in the lectures I go to, KataYuu." Meichō said with a grin. "And it so happens both you and Senpai are Physics majors."

"And all this just to prove a point?"

"Well, Akihito was telling me I should do something I really want to do." Meichō started and finished yet another calculation. "Programming is something that I had to do, and this is just something I brought up by chance."

"You're really weird, you know that?"

"Thanks Sherlock." Meichō rolled her eyes and said in English.

* * *

 _I feel like at times this story makes me either sound really ignorant of how cars and stuff really work, or it makes me sound like a super car trash._

 _Murasaki xx_


	13. Minor Disasters

_And here is the other chapter thingie I promised on the last one. It's three short drabbles, and incorporates two characters from my other fics. If it doesn't make sense I'm super sorry, but...I link everything together. My OCs are all good friends._

* * *

~Undertone of a Problem~

Meichō knew Mayuzumi was a closet romantic, just not to the point where he would set up really dumb games within his own shop. But apparently, that was his plan.

She set the note on the bedside table and got up to take a shower. Once she was finished preparing, she grabbed her keys and drove to Mayuzumi's shop. It was a bookshop, and Meichō had been incredibly confused when Mayuzumi told her that he was going to run it. It was the bookshop he had been working part-time at throughout university. It was small, and had a little lounge area to the corner for people to read in. It had brought enough profit for the previous owner to live comfortably, and for some reason, the old man had given Mayuzumi the shop to run.

And the idiot with the Physics degree had agreed to take the bookshop.

Well, if it made him happy.

The shop was closed that day, but Meichō had the spare keys, so she opened the door and walked in. Mayuzumi was nowhere to be seen, which was also explained in the note. He was probably in the back, observing her as she worked to solve a puzzle.

"Surprise, surprise, who would've guessed the puzzles are all light novel references?" Meichō mused as she picked up the first piece of paper and read it.

Puzzles that led her from one book to another. Meichō was somehow grateful for the amount of reading she had done in her free time, and also her memory for retaining the information for such a long time.

The last note, she discovered half an hour later, was very simple.

[Link the first sound of the notes together.]

It said.

Meichō looked at the sheets of paper in her hand.

Marry me.

"Classy." Meichō mused, unable to stop the grin on her face, but that grin was quickly wiped off as she saw something furry run across the floor to her left. She took a deep breath, and raised her voice. "Chihiro, how about solving the mice problem in this store first?"

* * *

~Second Natured Hacking~

Meichō knew what a bachelorette party was only because she had to push past a few in Las Vegas. It wasn't really an Asian custom, but in good spirit, Kaori had insisted she have one. Kaori's reasoning was that Meichō had lived overseas for such a long time.

Meichō, in a stroke of laziness, had left it to Kaori and Hinae. Also partially because they had insisted they knew how to have fun. Meichō had neglected to overlook the preparation of the party altogether, and also forget to ask Hinae what level of _fun_ she meant. Because far as Meichō knew, Hinae could throw some Hollywood style parties, and often forgot the concept of budgeting in party planning.

If nothing else taught Meichō about the consequences of being lazy, leaving Kaori and Hinae to plan a party really made her learn the hard way.

Well, for the bits she could remember, there were male strippers, lots and lots of shots and change. She wasn't entirely too sure what had happened exactly, but the photos were…

"I need to erase some data." Meichō muttered as she saw the file of photos in Hinae's phone.

Some photos could be left alone, some really shouldn't exist.

* * *

~Organisation Skills~

Learning from the bachelorette party, both Meichō and Kikue had decided that maybe it was a bad idea to leave somethings completely up to Hinae and Kaori. Which meant, Kikue had decided to freeload at Hinae's for the time being to help Meichō with the wedding preparations.

"Something old?" Kikue asked as they sat in Meichō's living room, itemising. If there was something Meichō absolutely loved about Kikue, it was her ability to sit down and actually get things done without being distracted.

"Kikue, sometimes I really admire you for having your shit together." Meichō said as she thought of something old to incorporate into her wedding outfit. Kikue smiled drily.

"If I don't have my plot together, exactly who would?" Kikue replied.

"True," Meichō agreed as she remembered who exactly Kikue's husband was. "I can't think of anything, I used to wear hoodies all the time."

"Leg garter?" Kikue suggested, having once seen Meichō's strange collection of clothes that was her wardrobe. "Did you wear those when you were in high school?"

"Sometimes, let me ask Akihito if he's still got Mum's stuff." Meichō said as she quickly typed a message to her brother.

"Something new," Kikue muttered. "Mayuzumi-senpai's family's got that covered?"

"That's the plan." Meichō shrugged. "Hinae told me she would have things ready just in case."

"Hina's pretty much organised two warehouses of stuff for when her friends get married." Kikue deadpanned. "She insisted on giving me an entire set of stereo system the other day."

"Let's hope she's not giving me a fridge."

"Don't even remind me," Kikue sighed and wrote something else down on the notebook in front of her. "Something borrowed?"

"Kaori's got that covered." Meichō replied. "Something blue…it's not even my colour."

"And I, have that covered." Kikue said as she grabbed her bag from the floor besides her and took out something wrapped in a nice piece of cloth. From the nice wrapping, she produced a royal blue ribbon. It was hand sewn, and didn't make Meichō want to run from it. Meichō looked at her long-time idol and now good friend, slightly stunned. "Hina's got a lot of stuff, and I happen to have free time while I freeload at her house."

"Kikue, have I ever told you how much I love you as a human being?"

"Yes," Kikue replied. "The first time we met, you told me you were a fan, and then almost skidded Ume right off a mountain edge."

"It was raining, and we were fine."

"Ume wasn't."

"I fixed her."

"We're getting off topic."

* * *

Thanks to Kikue's help, the wedding went smoothly. Which, as Meichō concluded, was possibly the only thing that went smoothly with the entire ordeal. And it probably would've also crashed and burned if Kikue didn't help so Meichō made sure she sent Kikue something useful as a return gift.

As it turned out, Kikue had refused to take the stereo system from Hinae, which meant that in addition to the TV Hinae originally planned to give her, Meichō also got the stereo system. When she tried to object, she was met with Hinae's stubbornness and Kikue's 'at least it's not a fridge'.

But Meichō had just upgraded the stereo system.

At least, Meichō reasoned, the mice problem was solved, and the wedding itself wasn't a disaster.

* * *

 _The next chappie is the honeymoon. Chihiro and Mei-chan banter shall ensue._

 _Murasaki xx_


End file.
